Tales of the Fire Emblem
by QueenBlue093
Summary: Lloyd and the gange are deep in the war on Tellius, but their real fears are how will they return home. The Eternal Sword is their only hope but it's gone along with Kratos! Rated for violence and mild language. *Total rewrite coming soon!*
1. Prologue

Well this is my first story here on fanfiction so hopefully you all like it.

Disclamer: I do not own Tales of symphonia or Fire Emblem.

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Tales of the Fire Emblem

Prologue:

_On the outskirts of the destroyed Tower of Salvation a group of heroes stood with one last chance to save their world. The 9 companions were surrounded by the 8 elemental spirits and now they must rely on a young man in red with brown hair to prevent the world's destruction. _

_"All right, then! I'm counting on you, Eternal Sward!" A red clad boy named Lloyd shouted as he thrust the large sword upwards_

_"Derris-Kharian is already at the edge of the gravitational field." Origin informed him, "Not even Yggdrasill…Mithos could stop this from happening. Do you still intend to try?"_

_"Yeah." _

_"Even strengthened by your Exsphere, it is likely that your body will not withstand the force. Are you certain of your decision?" Origin asked one more time_

"_I said I'm doing it, so I'm doing it! It's not like we have a choice!" Lloyd said with full confidence, but really what did he have to lose._

"…_Very well."_

_As mana was surging through Lloyd to the Seed, you could still see Derris-Kharlan and a small dot that was the Great Seed. But suddenly the Eternal Sward disappeared. _No!

"_It's not working! The mana's being deflected!" Lloyd cried in frustration _

"_The Great Seed is…already dead." The young blonde Chosen named Colette said sadly_

_Lloyd looked at her and the rest of the group, they had the look of defeat. He then looked at his Exsphere, something was telling him that there was still one chance._

"_Wait! Don't go! Please, wake up!" he pleaded _

_Power was now coming from his Exsphere, surrounding him. He then grew large wings similar to Mithos and Kratos's wings. His eyes were wide with amazement then something took over and he started to fly toward the Great Seed. As he got closer, some of the power of his Exsphere went toward the seed._

_As he got there he then noticed that Colette had flown up there beside him and took his arm "It looks like Derris-Kharlan stopped moving away" she said_

"_Yeah, but why? The Eternal Sword is gone…" as soon as he said that the sword appeared before them, "the Eternal Sword!" They both were shocked but in a good way_

"_Thank goodness!" Colette sighed in relief_

_They both griped their hands around the sword._

"_This is my final wish. Eternal Sword…" Lloyd began _

"_Please…awaken the Great Seed!" She begged _

"_I beg you, please wake up!"_

"…_Please!"_

"**Rise Giant Kharlan Tree**"_ They then swung the sword at the Great Seed and a bright light engulfed them all._

* * *

Lloyd finally regained consciousness lying on the forest floor. It took a few minutes to get feeling back in his body. When he finally got up he was still exhausted. _Man, that must have taken more out of me then I thought._

"Oh man." he moaned "Hey Colette, you all right?" there was no response

"Colette?" Still nothing

"Genis?" Nothing but the sounds of the forest.

"Professor? …Presea? …Zelos? …Regal? …Sheena?" He shouted franticly "Kratos!" he shouted

_Am I alone?_ But Lloyd wasn't alone. Oblivious to him there are two pairs of eyes watching him.

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I know this was short, but hey it was the prologue. It might be a little while before chapter one comes.


	2. Chapter 1:Beginning

Here's chapter 1, tell me what you think of this story so far.

Disclamer: Don't own any of the characters. Enjoy.

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Chapter 1: Beginning

Lloyd had finally gotten enough strength to walk around, but it wasn't easy walking around. This forest seemed untouched by humans, unlike the Gaoracchia Forest. Though few people enter the Gaoracchia Forest, it at least had a few visible paths unlike this one.

"Guys were are you?" he shouted. He leaned against a tree; still not regain all his strength. _Damn it, come on._He glanced at his Exshere. _Why is it taking so long? I should be in top shape by now, what is happening?_

"Is anybody out there?" and to his avail someone answered

"Lloyd?" he saw a small girl with pink hair and had an ax that was larger than her. It was Presea and she was using her battle ax as a walking stick. Lloyd ran toward her, stumbling on his way.

"Are you alright?" He asked when he got there

"…I am…but I'm still weak from our battle with Mithos," She admitted while leaning on her ax. "You look worse, what happened when you and Colette flew up toward the Great Seed?"

"I'm not really sure myself. I thought the seed had germinated, but after I swung the Eternal Sword-" Lloyd stopped and realized that he didn't have the sword. Putting his hand on his sheaths and noticed that it was just his regular blades. Both the swords that Dirk and Kratos gave him were gone. "Where are we anyway?" He asked even though he was disappointed in losing such important items.

"Trespassing on our land is where you beorcs are." Lloyd and Presea looked in the direction of the voice to see a man that was half hidden in the shadows, and when they saw him several beast came out of the brush. Half of them tigers and the rest were giant cats.

Lloyd drew his swords and Presea readied her ax even though they knew they couldn't take them all.

"We don't want any trouble," Lloyd told the man.

"Well you should have thought of that before you wondered into our country, beorcs," the man responded.

Lloyd looked at Presea and mouthed the word 'beorcs' to see if she knew what it meant. She just shrugged, not knowing what it means too.

"What country are we in exactly?" Presea asked, diverting her attention back to the man.

The man started to laugh, "Why you're in Gallia of course. Goddess, all your kind knows this in order to stay away from here." He then walked into view.

Lloyd and Presea were baffled at what they saw. The man had blue hair but that wasn't what was shocked them; he had _cat _ears and a _tail. _Lloyd was baffled at what he saw and took a step back. But as soon as he did one of the tigers jumped up and attack. He put his swords in defense and when the tiger came close, his Exshere glowed. The tiger then stopped and transformed into a man with cat ears and a tail. Then the rest of the beast did the same. They were all staring at the small blue gem on Lloyd's hand.

"Who are you?" The blue haired cat man asked them.

"Give me your name and I'll give mine." Lloyd told him out of habit.

"Lloyd this is not the time." Presea whispered to him

"You've got guts to be asking anything in your position." He looked at Lloyd but figured that it was worthless to argue with him. "Fine, I'm Ranulf and you all?" he gestured toward them.

"I'm Lloyd and this is Presea." Lloyd sheathed his swords to try and settle this peacefully.

"So Lloyd, why have you and Presea wondered into our domain?"

"To be honest I have no idea how we even got here." The beast people apparently didn't like that response because they all growled at him. "Please we're just trying to find our friends." Lloyd pleaded

"Your friends? You mean there are more of you here?" Ranulf looked frustrated

"Maybe, and if we do not find them they could be in danger," Presea warned them. Ranulf turned to one of his allies and they began to mutter something that Lloyd couldn't catch.

"All right, Kyza will escort you two to Gebal Castle while we hunt for your companions." Ranulf turned to leave while the guy called Kyza walked toward them.

"Wait Ranulf!" Everyone stopped at Lloyd's sudden outburst. "If you're looking for our friends then I want to go to."

Ranulf turned to face Lloyd. "Look you'll only slow us down." As he said that the memory of Kratos at the Martal Temple came to mind.

_Lloyd, you'll only get in the way. Be a good boy and wait here._

"You were also lucky that we found you first. If any other laguz had found you, you would probably be dead." Lloyd's heart sank at Ranulf's words.

"You don't mean…that they might already be-" he was interrupted.

"Well if you'll shut up and do as you're told then we'll find out."

So Lloyd and Presea followed Kyza to Gebal Castle while the other beast people went off in different directions. _Guys please be okay._Lloyd prayed as they walked on.

* * *

On a dusty road, miles from Gallia, an unlikely pair was traveling down the road trying to figure out were they were exactly. One of them is a man with long red hair and had an Exshere on his chest. The other, a young half-elf with silver hair, also had an Exshere on his hand.

"Twerp, do you have any idea where we are?" The older man named Zelos asked as he squatted to the ground in exhaustion.

"How should I know?" The kid called Genis said as he sat down. "None of this makes since. There's little to no mana here, but yet look around. All the plant life seems to be flourishing."

"Well that explains why we're still drained from our final battle, we haven't absorbed enough mana," Zelos sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "You think this is what it's supposed to be like with Giant Kharlan Tree back?"

"I highly doubt that."

They were quiet for awhile, suddenly Zelos jumped to his feet. "I got it! We're in a different world," He proclaimed.

"What! Come on Zelos, be reasonable." Genis rolled his eyes at the Chosen's statement.

"Come on twerp. After all the hell we've went through you don't think that going to another world is possible? I mean we met someone who used a_ sword_ to split a world in two."

Genis hated to admit, but Zelos had a point. Of course he wasn't going to tell him that, his ego was big enough. Genis then got up and said "Come on Zelos, we better find a town so we can figure out where we are."

"Why couldn't I have gotten lost with one of our female companions?" Zelos sighed. "Hell I would even settle with the violent banshee." He then started walking slowly behind the young half-elf.

"Well if you don't like it, you can just go on your own then," Genis yelled not wanting to put up with Zelos anymore.

"Yeah and tell Raine I left her little brother alone, I'll pass on dying thanks."

Genis was about to say something when they heard someone shout, "Over here!" Within minuets they saw a group of people rushing at them in black armor. Zelos grabbed Genis's shirt and started to run in the opposite direction, he could tell they weren't friendly. But a short distance down the road, they were stopped by soldiers with weapons. They were soon surrounded by spears pointing at them.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing." Zelos said as he swatted away one of the spears pointing at his face.

"Yep, he's defiantly a noble." One of the soldiers murmured. Genis just rolled his eyes. _Great._

Then a man walked up to them, probably the captain or something, and announced "By orders of King Ashnard, you two are placed under arrested."

"What! On what charge?" Genis demanded. All the soldiers started laughing as if he told some hilarious joke.

"On what charge?" The man mocked "Because you two are citizens of Crimea and are carrying weapons." He said eyeing Zelos's stiletto

Genis and Zelos looked at each other with puzzled looks. "Come on. For once can something go right?" Zelos murmured.

"Zelos I think I have enough mana for one spell," Genis whispered to him.

"Same here. We make it count and run like hell for that forest."

Genis nodded and slowly reach for his kendama. He then started casting and shouted '**Aqua Edge!' **He had taken out several of the soldiers then Zelos whipped out his stiletto and took out the captain with Demon Fang. Then made a dashed for the forest.

But as soon as Zelos passed the first tree, a powerful wind spell knocked him into a tree and he lost consciousness. Genis was about to run to him but a Knight appeared and grabbed him. Genis struggled to get loose.

"Quit struggling little boy and we won't hurt you," The Knight told him.

The captian walked up to Genis and looked at him and Zelos with great interest. "What unusual magic you two can use."

Genis looked at him blankly, "What are you talking about? Those are just basic arts, theres nother unusual about them!"

"So you refuse to tell us. No matter, put them with the rest. We'll get the answers out of you."

The soldiers clad in black armor began to tie Genis and Zelos then threw them in the back of a wagon.

* * *

So far it doesn't look like our heroes had the best of luck on their new adventure. Poor Genis, has to be stuck with Zelos. I thought it might be funny. Next chapter you'll see Colette and maybe Raine, haven't decided on Raine yet. Also you'll be seeing more of the Fire Emblem characters in the chapter aswell. But hey Ranulf was in this one right?


	3. Chapter 2: Greil Mercenaries

Finally this is done! For some reason the beginning of this was hard to write. Hopefully you like this. Again don't own anything.

Chapter 2: Greil Mercenaries

After being chased from their base and home, the Greil Mercenaries are now making their way to Gallia in hopes of getting the princess there safely. When they were about reached the border between Crimea and Gallia they stopped to rest as well as plan their next move. They stopped at the foot of a steep hill and were surrounded by thick brush. Only a fool would charge at them, their tactician had said when they stopped.

But as they were resting they heard a cry. Someone was rolling down the hill and landed at the bottom with a thud. It was a young girl with long blond hair, now with twigs and leaves in her hair, and also looked like she worked for a church by the way she was dressed. There were a lot of flabbergasted looks from this.

The blue hair swordsmen named Ike ran up to the young woman "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm dizzy," She managed to say.

"Goodness, how did you manage to fall down that hill?" Their healer, Rhys, asked

"Oh…I tripped. Clumsy of me, wasn't it?" The girl slowly began to sit up.

"Oh that's original," Shinon mumbled.

Titania shot him a glance. "Ignore him," She said.

"Don't worry; I get called a klutz a lot." The girl smiled

Everyone stared at her, and then Titania tried to explain, "That's not exactly what he was talking about-"

"Who are you and where did you come from?" Their tactician, Soren, interrupted.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Colette Brunel. As to where I came from, I did fall from the top of that hill." She pointed to the top of the hill.

"Is this girl for real?" Rolf asked his older brother Oscar who didn't know how to respond.

"That's not what I meant. Are you a Daein spy or maybe even an assassin?" Soren asked, starting to lose his temper.

"Come on Soren, this can't be act. She seems too innocent," Ike told him.

"Oh I get it, you all think I'm the enemy, right?" She said with much enthusiasm, there was silence again.

Finally Greil spoke "I apologize for this young lady but we're currently being perused so we have to be cautious."

"Oh that's okay, I understand. In fact the first time I met my friend Sheena she was trying to kill me after all. But then we became friends and she told me the reason why she wanted to kill me then ended up joining us on our journey." She said with a smile.

"That's it! She's either the perfect assassin sent to kill the princess or she's just an air head. Either way I give up." Soren walk away frustration.

"So what exactly are you doing in a place like this?" Greil asked her

Colette's smile faded "I'm afraid I haven't a clue. The last thing I remember I was with my friends, then there was a bright light."

Elincia walked over toward Colette and helped her up. Colette thanked her but as she took one step forward she lost her balance and fell on top of Elincia. Everyone was about to draw their weapons when they noticed that an arrow flew right where the princess Elincia was standing before she fell.

Shinon quickly fired his bow at their attacker. The Daein archer fell.

"A scout," Soren said.

As Colette and Elincia got up, Elincia said "You saved my life. Thank you very much."

"Oh n-no, don't thank me. I only tripped," She admitted in embarrassment.

"Commander, we really should be getting a move on," Titania alerted him.

"Alright." Commander Greil looked around at his mercenaries. "Young lady, you'll have to come with us." Colette nodded and followed

"But Commander, can we really trust her?" Asked Boyd.

"We don't really have time to deiced. Besides you know what they say, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer."

They had traveled for a day and during that time the mercenaries were introducing themselves to Colette. Titania had also explained to Colette about why they were hurrying to Gallia. But even thought they were being chased by this Daein army, she was really enjoying her travel with the mercenaries. They were all so kind to her, although Soren and Shinon were a different story. The one called Gatrie had even said that he would be her shield if they were to come under attack. Colette had smiled and thanked him. But Titania had told her not to provoke him.

"So Colette, do you work for the church?" Elincia had asked.

"Well…I guess you could say I'm sort of like a priestess," She answered.

"Then why are you all the way out here? Don't priest and priestess stay at their churches?" Ike asked out of curiosity. Everyone else was listening too.

"That's probably true but before I meet all of you all, I was on a journey with my friends." Colette's eyes then grew sad. "I hope they're all right."

"I'm sure their just fine," Mist said to cheer her up.

But soon the forest became dense and hot. Not very pleasant to those trying to evade an enemy.

"Blazes, why does it have to be so blamed humid?" Gatrie complained "If we weren't being chased, I'd strip off this armor here and now!"

"Then I'm almost glad that we ARE being pursued. I suppose you'll have to grin and bear it, won't you?" Titania had commented

He sighed. "I suppose I well."

"Right. So enough of your griping. You're merely wasting energy. Still, this heat is appalling." She had to agree.

Shinon had just got hit in the face with a branch when he said "Dense forests such as these are not made for us delicate humans. The sub-humans love 'em, though."

"Sub-human? Um…what's a sub-human?" Colette asked

"What, you mean to tell me you've never seen a beast-man before?"

"I guess not."

"Well, I have. They're a hairy bunch, I'll tell you. And ugly as sin, too. Their faces are all fangs and whisker. Their claws are like daggers, razor sharp and deadly. And even though they can speak our language, they're beasts through and through. Savages, every one." Mist and Rolf whimpered from Shinon's description. Colette was still confused as to what he was talking about.

"Are there more than one type?" Ike asked

It was Soren's turn to talk "The ones Shinon calls 'sub-humans' can be divided into three groups, each one named for its physical characteristics. First, the beast tribe, next, the bird tribe, and finally, the dragon tribe. They are traditionally called 'laguz'. The laguz tribe residing here in Gallia is the beast tribe, who possess those feline qualities of which Shinon spoke."

Finally everything in Colette's brain clicked, "Oh, I get it now! These sub-humans are people who are part human and part animal, right?"

"I guess that's one way you could describe them."

"But I'm not sure that calling them sub-humans is very nice, it sounds degrading. I think Soren's term 'laguz' sounds better."

"Not very nice? Who cares, they're still just a bunch of evil savages no matter how you look at it," Shinon argued.

"Princess Elincia," Colette shifted her gaze toward her, "you said that your late father had established good relationship with Gallia, right?"

"Well yes," She answered.

"Well the king must have trusted the laguz and the laguz had to have accepted us humans as well. So I refuse to believe that the laguz are evil. Everyone has goodness in them no matter who or what they are." Everyone was stunned at her words.

"You know Colette; I was really nerves and scared about meeting them but now not so much," Mist said.

"So Colette; does that mean you're not scared?" Ike had asked her.

"Nope. In fact I'm really excited about meeting the laguz. They must be amazing."

"Where exactly is your church at?" Rhys asked

"Just in a small village called Iselia. Why do you ask?"

"Well a lot of priests don't think of the laguz like that. Normally they think of them as sins against the goddess."

"Well, if only more people thought the way Colette does then there might be less fighting in this world," Titania told them.

"Yeah, or a little scattered brain," Shinon whispered to Gatrie.

"…A little farther, and we'll be out of these trees." Soren finally spoke up.

"Really?" Shinon said in disbelief. "That means Gallia's proper! Compared to this forest, even a kingdom of half-breeds will seem like heaven."

They had reached the end of the forest and were now planning their next course of action. But Colette spoke up. "I hear someone coming."

"I don't hear anything," Ike said.

"Shinon, go check it out." Greil ordered

"Oh for the love of…you're really going to listen to a girl we just met," He argued but quickly gave up. Colette pointed in the direction she heard the sound from and he went off in a flash.

"I don't suppose our Daein pursuers were willing to let us just slip away," Titania commented.

After a few minutes Shinon came running back. "Commander, I don't know how, but the girl was right. There were a couple of scouts not far from here."

"Did they see you?" Greil asked.

"Yeah, but I took them out."

"But when they don't report back, the rest of the company will know we're here and will catch up to us in no time. Without knowing their numbers, it is difficult to advise a course of action," Soren informed.

"Take your best guess, Soren," Greil told him. "With the limited information we have, what is the best way to proceed?"

Soren gave this some through "…Some of our group cannot fight. If we are caught, we'll have a difficult time defending them and attacking the Daeins. I propose we separate into two groups: a small fighting force to engage the enemy and buy the main group some time, and the rest of us-who will escort the princess to Gallia at full speed."

"You want to divide our combat strength? The main force aside, don't you think the risk to the smaller group is too high?" Oscar argued.

"I believe this is the only way to achieve our goal and keep casualties to a minimum." Soren than look at Colette. "It's possible there's an ambush waiting for us at the edge of the forest. If we proceed with no plan, we may be caught between the pursuit and the ambush, which would be the end of us all." A few of the mercenaries (Soren included) still didn't trust Colette, of course she was none the wiser.

"Looks like we've no choice but to give it a go." Greil looked around the group. "All right, let's split up. The diversionary team will be Gatrie, Shinon, and me. The rest of you guard Princess Elincia and proceed to Gallia straightaway. Got it?"

"Are you sure you're taking enough men?" Ike asked his father with concern.

"Idiot pup. Smaller numbers means better mobility. Your time would be better spent worrying about yourself than about us," Shinon said.

Ike was about to argue but Greil cut in. "Listen up! This will probably prove to be the biggest fight this company's faced. Remember-you've got only one life. I don't want any of you dying on me. In times like these, it matters not what our blood ties are. We are family. If you don't want to cause your family grief then live!"

Greil said a few more things and everyone went their separate ways. Colette said a quick prayer for everyone's safety and followed Ike and the rest.

They came to the edge of the forest only to find that there was an ambush waiting for them across the small river. Ike and Soren were coming up with a plan on how to get to the other side. They were going to spilt up again, one team uses a surprise attack across one of the bridge to create a diversion while the other team goes across the other to get to safety.

Elincia spoke up, "My lord Ike, I…I will fight with you!"

"…No, you won't, " Ike told her.

"My lord?" She question.

"I cannot let you expose yourself to danger of any kind. Everyone here is risking their life to ensure your safety. If you understand that, you'll cooperate and do as I ask," He explained.

"I see…I will do my part," She sighed.

"It's settled then," Titania said.

"Right! Let's break through their lines!" He exclaimed, and then looked at Mist and Rolf. "Mist! Rolf! Take care of the princess. Do not let yourselves be seen." They both nodded and walked toward Elincia.

Ike then turned toward Colette. "Colette I want you to go with them as well."

"But I can fight, see." Colette pulled out her chakrams. "You all have helped me, so now I'm going to help you. I will not be a nuisance to you all."

Ike was about to object but Soren spoke up "Ike just let her fight. It might be better for us to keep our eyes on her."

Ike sighed "I don't agree with your reason Soren, but alright. Colette you can fight."

"I won't let you down Ike"

Oscar and Titania charged out first toward the bridge while Ike and Boyd took out the guards by the bridge. Soren, Colette, and Rhys followed close behind. Colette was a little nerves about this battle but she reassured herself that she had been in worse.

She watched as the rest of the group was cutting down enemies. _Their amazing! _She thought as she saw Oscar stab his lance in one soldier's neck. Sure it is a little gruesome to watch, but their skill was something to envy.

Just when she was about go across the bridge, she noticed that Soren was still on the bridge using a wind spells. _Does he have elven blood in him? _She thought.

But just than a Daein in heavy army came up to him and attack him. Luckily, Soren was able to deflect the soldier's lance by using his tome as a shield. The force of impact caused him to fall backwards hard and losing his grip on the tome in the process. The soldier was about to attack again but Colette quickly threw one of her chakrams at him. It hit him hard in the head which caused him to fall into the river and he went floating on down.

Colette picked up the tome and offered a hand to Soren. He looked up at her in shock and disbelief. He got up on his own, took his tome away from her, and then walked off. Colette was taken aback, but quickly went on to return to the fight.

The fight was going well and was turning in their favor. Colette wasn't able to cause much damage, but she was able to cause the enemy to stagger leaving the others to make the final blow. Finally, Ike crossed blades with the leader of this small company. His name was Emil and he was determined not to let any of them pass. Sadly, none of Ike's attack landed because the leader blocked every attack with his spear. Colette then took matters into her own hands. She ran up within range of Emil. She had enough mana for one art. "**Ray Thrust!"** She shouted as she threw her chakrams as hard as she could.

The attack sent him flying into the wall. Ike took his chance and horizontally sliced him through the chest. "All right everyone, time to get out of here." He shouted

Everyone ran through the gate and got to safety.

"Thanks for your help Colette," Ike said when they stopped.

"No problem. I'm just happy I could help," She smiled.

"That was awesome. I never would have thought that you could fight with something like that," Boyd complemented as he pointed at her chakrams.

"Yes that was something else, but where did you learn to fight like that?" Titania asked.

"I told you that before I met you all that I was on a journey with my friends. You learn pretty quickly when you're being attacked by monsters and bad guys," Colette laughed.

Just then the princess, Mist, and Rolf came into view. Everyone was excited about being in Gallia and no one being seriously hurt. But something came to Colette's mind. "Wait what about the others?" Everyone then realize that they weren't all accounted for.

"We are talking about the commander. I don't think there's anything to worry about," Titania reassured them.

"Father…Shinon…Gatrie…" Ike whispered and then looked at everyone. "…Princess Elincia, I'm afraid we're going to have to part ways here."

"What do you mean?" She asked with worried.

"We're going to aid our companions. So I want you to continue with Mist to the royal palace of Gallia." He answered

"What?" Quickly, Mist ran up to her brother. "No Ike! I'm going to stay with you."

Ike grabbed her shoulders and said "Listen to me, Mist! We must do it this way so that everyone gets out of here alive!" Mist looked like she was about to cry so Ike continued. "Father and I will catch up to you right away! Don't worry. Have Father or I ever broken a promise to you?"

"Well…no….All right, then. We'll go ahead," She cheered up bit.

The three brothers were saying their good-byes, Mist was asking Titania to watch out for her brother, and Princess Elincia even gave Rhys a mend staff.

Ike came over to Colette and asked, "So do you want to continue with us or head to the royal palace with the princess? Although I'm sure your hearing would come in handy with the search."

"I would like to help but shouldn't someone go with them to make sure they stay safe?" She asked.

Soren then joined the conversation "They'll be fine. The Daein would never come into Gallia's boarder. I think your abilities would be better used in our search."

"Well, alright than," She said.

Ike then wishes the others luck then turned to Soren, "Where too?" he asked.

"We go east on the road we used before. Let's find the commander before the enemy reinforcements show up."

"Okay everyone let's all be safe, alright," Colette chimed in.

Yeah I kind of rushed through that battle. Sorry no Raine but hey, at least the Greil Mercenaries are in the story now, which in my opinion are the best characters in the game plus Runalf. Also I had an idea to have one chapter full of z-skits. I have two skits already planned out so if any of you have any other ideas just e-mail me or tell me in a review or something. Thank you and review please!


	4. Chapter 3: New Acquaintances

Nothing new. Enjoy.

Again I don't own anything besides the idea of combing these two games together to form this story.

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Chapter 3: New Acquaintances

They had searched for their comrades for a few hours until dusk fell on them. Although Soren's attention wasn't fully on searching for their missing allies, his mind was still on their new found ally, Colette. He could rule out her being a Daein spy, but did that mean that he trusted her? Of course not. In fact the last battle only stimulated more questions and doubt.

_That moment on the bridge I noticed that there is something different about her. She's definitely not a laguz. Could she be like me, having cursed blood? _He thought as he looked over at Colette. _No, her presence isn't the same as us Branded. But she's not human either. So what could she be? Then there's that final attack. It couldn't have been a critical hit. The amount of damage she inflicted before and the amount on that final attack just doesn't add up. There's just no way that a critical hit from her could cause that much damage._

"Are you all right Soren? You look a little out of it," Colette asked him.

He turned his head to look at her only to find that she was right in his face. He was startled and stumbled away. "I was fine until know," He grumbled as he walked away.

"Don't worry, Soren acts that way towards everybody," He could hear Oscar tell her.

After a little bit, Ike asked Colette "Do you hear anything by any chance?"

Colette shook her head "I'm sorry."

_And then there's her abnormal hearing. _

Ike looked around him, and then gave a heavy sigh, "They're not here either…"

"Ike, pursuing them any farther may be dangerous. I think it would be best if we returned to Gallia for now," Soren suggested. He could see that Ike was about to protest so he added, "It's possible the commander may have followed another road into Gallia. It's something we should consider."

"…You're right. Getting killed looking for them would waste everything they accomplished by breaking away."

Just then Titania ran up to them "Ike, there's a fort over there. Just now, for a moment only… I thought I saw someone. Shall we investigate?" she asked.

"What? Really? Yes, let's go take a look," he said with hope in his eyes.

* * *

The group walked into the fort only to find it empty.

"It seems as though this place has been abandoned for a long time," Soren observed.

"There's no one here…Hm. I could've sworn I saw a silhouette, but…"

Colette didn't hear the rest of the conversation. She kept hearing clanking armor and metal scraping the floor. In the back of her mind she was wondering why she couldn't hear this from outside.

"Um…I think we just walked into a trap," She said out loud.

Just as soon as she said that a soldier came into view and shouted. "Here they are! I've found the Crimean mercenaries! Surround them!" Within seconds they were surrounded by Daein soldiers. Ike cursed and then they all got in to their formation.

They were slowly making their way up the hall, slicing any enemy in their path. As they passed one of the rooms Colette saw a girl with purple hair and dressed in orange, fighting a few of the Daein. She had just horizontally sliced through one of them when two more swordsmen came up behind her.

"Look out!" Colette shouted as she ran toward her. The girl turned around to see who shouted, then saw her attackers. She brought her sword around and was able to stab one of them. Colette got beside the girl and threw one of her chakrams "**Ray Thrust!" **Her chakram hit the swordsman in the head knocking him unconscious.

"Are you all right?" Colette asked as she saw that the young woman fell to her knees.

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted," She sighed.

"Colette! You really shouldn't be wondering around by yourself." Ike said as he came into view. "Hello, who do we have here?" he asked when he saw the young woman.

The young woman stood up, "I'm Mia. I'm a mercenary, hired by Crimea to bolster the army's numbers," Mia explained with pride.

"Please to meet you Mia, I'm Colette, and this is Ike he's a mercenary too. But what are you doing in a place like this?" Colette asked.

Mia got red in the face then put her hands on her hip. "I…got careless and was captured. They were about to send me to a prison camp when this guy named Greil saved me."

"You've seen my father? Where?" Ike asked with new hope in his eyes.

"Just a little bit north of here. Not too far away, though."

"Ike! That means Mr. Greil and the others must be safe!" Colette cheered.

"He's safe…" Ike sighed with relief.

"So who exactly are you guys?" Mia asked.

"We're the Greil Mercenaries. As you see, we're fighting against Daein," Ike explained.

"Huh…You're taking on a whole Daein battalion with these numbers? Nice. That settles it then!" Mia announced.

"Settles what?"

"The battle. I'm coming in on your side. You don't mind, do you?"

"That's fine with me, but…I don't know if you'll get paid just because I let you fight."

"We'll worry about the details later! Great, so that's all taken care of. What next, boss man?"

"Just try and stay alive right now, come on." Ike than ran back to the fight in the hall.

Mia and Colette were about to follow but Colette stopped and said, "Just to make it official Mia, welcome to the group."

Mia smiled, "Thanks Colette!"

As they returned to the rest of the group Ike quickly informed everyone that they had a new comrade. They continued up the hall, killing enemies left and right; in front and behind; there seemed to be no end to them. They came close to the other end of the fort when more Daein came out of a doorway, followed by a scary, green hair woman on a horse. As the other soldiers saw her they all stopped fighting and directed their attention to the scary woman.

She began to laugh, "…Found you at last. You provided more entertainment than I thought you would."

Ike then ran up a little bit and shouted, "Who are you?"

"Me?" The scary woman gestured to herself. "I'm General Petrine, and my arrival marks your doom. Lament your fortune, dear children, for all hope is lost. You will not leave this place alive," She threaten.

"Petrine…Of the Four Riders?" Soren questioned.

"Do you know her, Soren?" Ike turned around and asked.

"She may be one of the four generals who are King Daein's most trusted confidants. She is said to wield a flame lance of terrible arcane might," He explained.

Petrine began to laugh again, "…You've heard of me? Why, I'm flattered. I'll try to make this easy on all of you. Give me the princess now! If I roast the girl along with you curs, I won't be able to present her head to His Majesty."

Colette then ran up next to Ike "Hasn't princess Elincia suffered enough! You've taken her country, her family, her people, and now you want to take her life!" Colette brought out her chakrams out. "I won't let you do something so terrible!"

"You insolent girl! You think that your words will sway me? I will kill you all without guilt!" Petrine shouted at her.

Ike brought his sword in front of Colette and said, "You have no reason to harm any of us, the princess is safely in Gallia."

Petrine then grew more furious at this. "What! You expect me to believe that some sale-swords like yourselves were able to get past my troops!" She then charged at Ike and Colette on her horse as she screamed, "Die!"

Colette pushed Ike's sword away from her and got in front of him. She yelled "**Damage Guard!**" A strange green light surrounded Colette creating a shield. Petrine's swung her lance at her causing Damage Guard to brake and slicing Colette's right arm. She was thrown backwards making both her and Ike to fall on the ground. Petrine was about to finish them off when she suddenly veered backwards, dogging an arrow.

Three figures then emerged out of one of the hall ways. "Sorry we're late." It was Greil!

"Father!" Ike shouted who was still on the ground with Colette.

Greil turned to his son looking angry. "What're you doing back here you dumb pup?"

"We got the princess safely in to Gallia. When you didn't rejoin us, we decided to look for you. The mission wouldn't be complete until you returned," he answered as he got up and then helped Colette up.

"…What am I to do with you?" Greil sighed, but he couldn't suppress his smile. "Still, you did well. Good work, Ike."

"Ha! Ignoring me proves you've got more guts than common sense," Petrine said interrupting them. She looked over Greil. "I was expecting some sell-sword to make it this far without a scratch."

"You know you really shouldn't underestimate you opponent. How's about me and you have our own battle without anyone getting in the way."

"Very well. You may even be strong enough for His Majesty." She then pointed to one of the soldiers and ordered "I'm leaving you in charge here. Don't let even one of these Crimean vermin escape!"

Greil looked at Shinon and Gatrie "I'll distract the woman. You two get Ike and the others and get out of here now!"

"Got it!" Shinon nodded.

"But, Commander! We can't leave you here on your own!" Argued Gatrie.

"Idiot!" Shinon hit him upside the head, "That woman's no threat to the commander. All right? Come on! Let's go!" he said as he walked away.

"Move it! We'll regroup in Gallia!" Greil shouted.

Petrine and Greil then went further in the fort. Once they were gone the Daein soldiers went back to fighting position. The rest of the mercenaries got together to take care of the last of the Daein.

Rhys walked up next to Colette and said "Colette you bleeding, let me heal your arm."

Colette looked down at her arm and indeed it was bleeding. The sleeve was soaked in blood. She winced when she squeezed it but then smiled. "I-it actually hurts! I can't believe it. I'm so happy." She said with disbelief and was laughing. Everyone was staring at her, even the Daein.

Shinon looked at Boyed and asked "So I guess you all ruled out spy for her, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"So what about brain damage?" 

The battle was about over. There was only one left, a mage named Balmer. He was surrounded. He backed up; sweat was dripping down his face. He shouted, "I will not fail, you hear me!" He then opened his tome and was about to cast, but Soren was faster. He used his wind spell to knock Balmer into a wall. Ike then ran up and ended his life.

"I have to find my father," Ike said as he looked at everyone.

They nodded; they didn't want to leave without their commander either. Titania then shot down the hall followed by everyone else. They found him in a big room crossing blades with Petrine.

"Titania! Is my father…?"

"Don't worry," Titania cut him off, "Commander Greil's the better fighter. He'll be fine."

Finally, Petrine backed away and said, "Who are you man? You look like a common sell-sword, but you fight like a demon!"

"What's wrong? Ready to surrender?" Greil taunted

"And admit defeat? Me? Don't be absurd…"

Just then a soldier walked and yelled. Shortly he was followed by several others.

"Blast. Enemy reinforcements!" Ike cursed under his breath. "Father! Let's get out of here!" He shouted.

"…Looks like I've got no choice." Greil ran back with the rest of his mercenaries and were about get out of there but all the exits were blocked by the enemy.

"Damn it, where did all these Daein come from?" Boyd shouted angrily.

Petrine, yet again, began to laugh. "Oh how the tides have turned." She then put on her evil face. "All troops, attack! Kill them. Kill them all!"

"Hm…Looks like our luck has run out." Greil sighed.

"Father!"

Greil put his hand on Ike's shoulder. "You have to survive this, Ike. I'm not going to lose you, not in this place. Are you ready?"

Reluctantly he answered "Yes Commander."

_No! I won't let anyone die. _Colette then began to bring Judgment upon them. But she was interrupted by a loud roar. "What was that?" She asked.

"B-b-beast! Gallian beast soldiers!" One of the soldiers shouted "R-r-run! We're going to be torn to shreds!" _Why are they so frightened? _

The Daein began to run for the exits but Petrine stopped them. "Stand your ground, all of you! Don't panic! I will personally slaughter the first man to turn his back on the enemy!" The majority of them ran away anyway.

They could hear screams down one of the hallways. Then a small group returned shaking and pointing down the hallway. In a flash, several giant feline came in. The blue cat then transformed into human form.

Colette couldn't take her eyes off them. Titania saw her bewilderment and told her "Those are the laguz."

**Gebal Castle**

Swish. Swoosh. Stab. That was all you could hear at Gebal Castle for Lloyd couldn't sit still. He was in a corner practicing with his twin blades. Presea and Kyza were both siting in chairs across from each other; staring at each other with expressionless faces.

"Will you sit down," Kyza told the teen clearly annoyed.

"Please Lloyd, you making me nerves," Presea looked at him.

Lloyd stopped and looked at them. "How can you just sit there and act so calm while our friends could be in danger." He slammed his fist into the wall. "Damn it! I should be out there looking for them, not here doing anything."

"I know how you feel. But there's nothing we can do now, except to believe in them, after all, they are all stronger then they look," Presea reassured him.

Lloyd nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry." _I just feel so useless, just like when Colette lost her heart._

Suddenly Kyzastood up and said, "Their back."

Presea quickly stood up and Lloyd sheathed his blades.

Ranulf and two other laguz returned followed by a large group of people. One Lloyd immediately recognized. "Colette!" He cried.

"Lloyd, Presea!" She ran toward Lloyd and he caught her in his arms.

"Colette, are you alright?" Presea asked seeing Colette's red sleeve. Lloyd let go of her and looked at her sleeve.

She smiled, "Yes, and it actually hurt." Lloyd and Presea just smiled, happy that Colette was back to normal. Well as normal as a teenager with angel wings and super hearing could be. Colette looked around the room and then asked, "Where are the others?"

Lloyd looked at Presea, and then said, "We were hoping that they would be with you."

Ranulf then stepped up. "Yeah, about that; your friends aren't Daein, are they?"

Lloyd was about to ask what a _Daein _was but Colette answered the question for him, "Don't worry, they're not."

"Well then, I think it's safe to say that your friends aren't in Gallia. The only beorcs that were in Gallia are you lot and those Deains." Ranulf looked at the group of people that came in with Colette. "We'll return when the king calls for you." He motion for Kyza to come. Kyza followed but nodded toward Lloyd and Presea before he left. Once the laguz left there was an awkward silence between the two groups.

Ike was the first to speak, "So Colette are these your friends that you were taking about?"

She smiled, "Yep, these two are my friends. This is Lloyd and Presea." She then introduced the people that came in with her. "They're the Greil Mercenaries. If it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't have found you two."

Lloyd walked up toward Ike and brought his hand out. "Thanks for looking out for her."

"It wasn't a problem," Ike accepted his hand and shook.

Somewhere out in the desert

Raine Sage somehow wondered into a desert. She knew it wasn't in Triet desert, the land marks didn't match up. But where in all the worlds was she! Finally after hours of walking around the desert she heard a cry and quickly ran toward the source.

When she got there she saw two people wielding axes, a tiger laying on the ground bleeding, and a young boy with red hair kneeling over the tiger. "No, Muarim! Please, you can't die!" The young one cried.

One of the axe wielders grabbed the boy to move him away from the green tiger, ignoring his protest. The other one walked up toward the bleeding tiger. "You ignorant kid! You'll learn not to mingle with these savage beasts."

Without thinking Raine ran closer and shouted, "**Barrier!" **casting the spell around the tiger. After she realized what she had done, she smiled. _Looks like Lloyd's habit of interfering in others affairs have rubbed off on me. Normally I wouldn't have gotten involved in situations like this. _She looked at the young boy; he had stopped squirming in the man's grip and was looking at her with disbelief.

The one who was about to finish off the green tiger shouted; "What the hell do you think you're doing!" He then began to charge at her. She sighed, then brought her staff around and hit him in the head. The man went flying back toward his companion. He sat up and rubbed his face while his companion was shaking.

"Well, are you going to leave or will this have to continue this," she threaten.

The two axe men immediately ran away. Once they were out of sight she turned around to see that the boy was standing in front of the tiger, acting as its shield. "Relax," She said, "I'm a healer. I can help you friend." The boy, very slowly, began to move out of the way. Raine then knelt next to the tiger and began casting her healing spell. "My name is Raine Sage." She said to try and distract the boy.

"I…I'm Tormod. He's Muarim," He managed to say. "Will he be alright?"

She nodded "He should be alright." But as soon as she said that, the tiger's appearance shifted to humanoid form with a tail and cat ears. Now he was a sturdy man with green hair and a white bandana. She fell backwards from the shock.

"I guess this is your first time seeing a laguz, huh?" Tormad asked her, she just nodded.

Muarim began to move then sat up. "Are you all right Little One?" he asked when he saw Tormod.

"You bet!" Tormod reassured him looking happy. Then he glanced at Raine; "But we wouldn't have been if this lady hadn't had come along," He admitted.

"Is that so…thank you Miss."

"You're welcome," She said finally on her feet again. _So there must be resentment against these laguz. Is there anywhere in all the worlds that discrimination doesn't exist?_

Once Muarim had enough strength to walk they took Raine to their base and explained to her that they were working on freeing all the laguz slaves in this Begnion place. But when they got there, nothing could prepare them for Raine in her ruin mode. Not even the king of Goldoa could stop her and her lust for investigating the ancient ruin.

* * *

Finally, I got Raine in the story! I thought it would be funny to put her in a place with ruins and people that didn't know her. Evil right? Poor Tormod and Muarim, don't know what they got themselves into. Again tell me if you have an idea for a Z-skite. Thanks for the reveiws!


	5. Chapter 4: Rescue

Okay chapter 4 is done. I won't lie, I was being lazy when I wrote the beginning. But I believe I made up for it in the end. I just can't stand the battle at Gable Castle so I made it short. I'll probably revise this latter on down the road. Enjoy and thanks for the reveiws!  
Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 4: Rescue

The next morning, Gable Castle was awoken to sadness. Commander Greil had died in the middle of the night. Ike had said that some person called the Black Knight had murdered him. So they buried him not far from the castle. Lloyd and Presea had offered to make a marker and Ike accepted the offer. So after they had said a prayer for Greil; Lloyd, Colette, and Presea returned to the castle to make the marker while the others stayed behind.

It didn't take long for Presea to cut down a tree and drag it back. As she was cutting the length, Lloyd and Colette sat on the stairs watching her. It was all quiet save for chopping but Lloyd spoke up, "Hey Colette. Those guys…they don't know that you're the Chosen, do they?" Presea stopped her work to hear.

Colette shook her head, "I've never told them, they even asked if I was a Priestess."

"That's probably a good thing. This is a strange place we're at. Species we've never seen, country's we've never heard of, and that Rhys said something about a goddess Ashera." Presea told them.

"What are you saying Presea?" Lloyd asked.

"I think that that bright light did more than just combine the two worlds. I believe it sent us to another world," She answered.

They were all quiet for a minute, and then Lloyd spoke up again, "I think that we should just keep quiet about this until we have more answers. So Colette, don't use your angel powers unless it's necessary."

"Okay Lloyd."

"So what's the next step?" Presea asked.

"I think we should just wait until the laguz call us to meet with their king. Maybe we can get some answers from him," He answered.

Not long after, the mercenaries came back except for Ike and Mist. They walked into the castle silently but not without a surprise look at seeing Presea wielding an axe twice her size. When Lloyd and Presea began to design the marker, they heard shouts from inside. It lasted for a short while and then Shinon stormed out of there, followed shortly by Gatrie.

Boyd was at the entrance now and shouted at them: "So that's it, just like that you two are leaving the company!" Everyone was outside now watching this scene.

Shinon turned around and spat angrily: "That was the last straw! I don't need this damn company anymore!" He threw his arms up and began to march away.

"Gatrie, you too?" Titania asked him with sadness in her voice.

He refused to meet anyone's gaze, "I think…I can make a better living elsewhere." Very reluctantly, he turned around and followed suit with grief written on his face. Lloyd felt he should say something but really, what can one say to someone whom you just meet when people who were close to them couldn't reach them.

"Oscar, Boyd. Will you two go after them; they may just need to let off a little steam," Titania asked the brothers.

"Yeah, sure thing Titania." Oscar and Boyd then went off to follow them. Titania, Rhys, Mia, and Soren went back inside. Rolf stayed by the door way.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked the young boy.

"Titania told us that Ike was going to be the leader, now that…the Commander is…" He stopped as he tryed to hold back his tears.

Colette got up and hugged the young boy. "There, there." She cooed while stroking through his light green hair. "It's all right to be sad." Upon hearing that, Rolf started balling.

* * *

When the sun set, Ike and Mist finally returned. Rolf, Colette, and Rhys went to take care of Mist while Lloyd and Presea put the finishing touches on the marker. When it was compete they went to the meeting room were the rest of the group was only to walk in on an awkward situation.

"I can't believe those two, after all the crap we've been through they just left!" Boyd ranted on.

"We all knew that Ike would inherit command someday. It just happened sooner than we wanted," Soren added.

Titania saw that they were at the door way and spoke up: "Oh…uh, Lloyd, Presea. Anything we can help you with?" Everyone stayed quite. _So they weren't able to convince those two to stay. _Lloyd thought sadly.

"No, uh…we just wanted you all to know that we finished the marker. You can…place it on the grave in the morning," Lloyd stuttered.

No one really said anything; it just reminded them that their commander was died. "When we get to a town we can make a better one. We didn't have the proper tools so-" Presea spoke up but Ike interrupted her. "No, it's…it's great. Thank you for doing this."

"Well now back to business, we're two people short, but that can be easily corrected by adding new members," Soren announced trying to get back on the matter at hand.

"Soren! How can you be talking about something like that now of all times?" Oscar asked sounding shocked.

"I'm sorry Ike. I wasn't able to stop any of this…" Titania told him while Soren and the two brothers argued.

"It's not your fault, Titania," He reassured her. "They did what they had to do. They didn't want to lose their lives to an inexperienced commander. But…with that said, I have no intention of giving up command of this company. So I will assume command as my father wished, if that's all right with all of you."

"Ike, do you really have to ask? We're still here, so we're going to follow you," Titania told him and the rest nodded in approval.

"And hey, if you need more fighting strength Presea and I would be more than happy to fill in," Lloyd added.

"I don't have a problem with you joining, but I can let Presea fight; she's still just a child."

"That's right…I'm still…just a child," She thought aloud as she pressed her hand on her Key Crest.

Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder. "She's just as strong as any of us. Once she even knocked a golem off a cliff," He defended, but realized that they had no idea what he was talking about.

Just then they heard someone running franticly down the halls. Within seconds Colette came bursting in, only to trip when she got there. Rhys was right behind her and was now at the door way with a worried look for Colette. Everyone gasped but quickly relaxed when they saw she was getting up. "Are you okay?" Lloyd asked as he helped her up.

"Yes. Thank you." She then looked at Ike and said, "I think we're in trouble."

"Huh, what makes you say that?" Ike asked with a confused look along with everyone else.

"Because, I hear foot steps outside and they don't belong to laguz," She answered.

Soren ran to the window, "She's right. We're surrounded by the Daein form the looks of things," he reported calmly.

Everyone ran to a window and looked for themselves. "Damn, I can't believe they're here of all times!" Ike ran his fingers through his hair, and then looked at everyone. "All right; everyone suit up, we're going to stand our ground!"

Everyone nodded and ran out of the room expect Lloyd, Colette, and Presea. "So, what about you guys?" Ike asked them, "Well you fight with us?"

"Of course we'll help. Just tell us what to do commander," Lloyd smirked.

* * *

They were all outside (except for Mist and Rolf who were hiding) and were ready for the fight for their lives. Lloyd, Colette, and Presea knew that it was going to be tough especially since they couldn't use many of their arts. After two days they still weren't back to full strength.

One of the Daein spotted Presea and nudged his buddy next to him. "Look, those mercenaries are so desperate their making a kid fight!" They began to laugh.

Now Presea's not the type to get angry over things like that, but she just wanted to inform them not to underestimate her. So she quickly jumped into the air toward the laughing Daein. She slammed her axe into ground in front of them and yelled, "**Destruction**!" Rocks flew up and knocked out about four of the Daeins that were laughing. The rest went quiet and just stared at Presea; even the mercenaries.

Ike looked at Lloyd, pointed at Presea, and asked "How?"

Lloyd just grinned, "It's a long story. I'll tell you when we get out of this mess," he then charged at an enemy; slicing him down. This began the battle as Daein soldiers started to charge at them.

The battle raged on as everyone was defending the entrance. At one point Lloyd and Colette ended up on the west side. As Colette threw her chakram at an archer who was about to shoot Lloyd, she noticed that that a frail looking girl just keeled over. Colette immediately ran over to her, "Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she asked as she kneeled down beside her.

"Colette, watch out!" Lloyd shouted when he saw a swordsman ran toward her ready to attack. He quickly ran in front of her. He brought his swords up and then slamming them into the swordsmen, making him crumble on the ground.

"Lloyd, this girl, she doesn't look to good," Colette told him with worry in her voice.

He got down on his knees beside Colette and said, "Don't worry; it doesn't look like she's badly wounded."

Suddenly the girl started to move and was muttering, "So hungry."

"Food? Is that what you need?" Colette asked while Lloyd helped her to setting position.

Soren saw them helping the girl. "Don't help the enemy!" he shouted looking really pissed.

Ike then ran over to them and looked at the girl, "Who are you? You don't look like a soldier," he asked her.

The girl shook her head, "My name is Ilyana and I was with a traveling merchant caravan, but we got separated when Daein attacked Crimea. The Daein found me and forced me to fight for them because I can use tomes."

"Wait, do you mean Muston's caravan?" Ilyana nodded to his question. "Well they hired us to protect them you can join them if you like. Colette, will you take her inside with them?"

"Um…sure," Colette said looking a little confused.

"Wait, Ike, when did a caravan get here?" Lloyd asked.

"What do you mean, they were here before we were," Ike answered.

Lloyd looked at Colette then at Ike and said, "They were?" 

The battle raged on for several more hours. Luckily no one was severely wounded but everyone was wiped out. Suddenly Mist came running out and grabbed her brother's arm.

"Mist?" Ike grabbed her by her shoulder and said, "You're not supposed to be out here! I told you to stay-"

"I don't care!" She shouted at him. "We're not going to make, are we?"

"Don't be foolish! No matter what happens, I'm making sure you and Rolf get out of here alive!" He reassured her.

Mist shock her head madly, "No! I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here with you and everyone else! As long as I'm with you, I'm not afraid to die. We'll see Mother and Father again. So I'm not going to leave any of you again. All right?"

"Fine but don't leave my side," Ike told her.

Lloyd looked at them and said, "Sorry to disappoint you two, but I'm not going to let anyone die; not while I'm around."

Just then, the leader of the Daein in a heavy suit of armor walked up to them. "A small band of mercenaries against and army of Daein; I must say you have fought bravely. But it's time to end this." The knight raised his lance at Ike when they heard a terrible cry of pain from the soldiers. "What was that?"

Then two laguz came running while taking out the rest of the Daein on their way. One was a giant blue tiger and the other was a small orange cat.

"Two laguz were able to take out that many people at once?" Lloyd thought out loud.

"These laguz are truly powerful," Presea said in amazement.

The knight looked at the two beasts and shouted, "Cursed Gallian beasts…There are only two of them! How could they have brought my army to its knees?"

He changed his target from Ike to the orange cat. He attempted to jab his lance the laguz's head but the cat backflip on the stone wall. She then jumped forward and leaped on him, biting his throat in the process. The knight fell to the ground hard and did not get back up.

The two laguz then morphed into their humanoid form. The tiger turned into a bulking man with blue hair. The cat turned into a small girl with orange hair. All of the mercenaries were just staring at their rescuers, not sure what to say.

Ike was the first one to say something when they returned to the castle, "So, uh…Are you two from the palace? Did the king of Gallia send you?"

The big guy nodded at him. "I am Mordecai, warrior of Gallia, and this is Lethe," He introduced. "Your hair is blue. You are Ike. Is this correct?"

"That's right, I'm Ike. Thanks for saving use."

"Then the one in red is Lloyd," Mordecai said as he looked at Lloyd.

"Is 'in red' my only distinguishable characteristic," Lloyd said a little annoyed.

"Ranulf told me you two are not bad strangers. We'll become good friends," He laughed.

Colette smiled and said, "I really hope that happens!"

"How are we to trust your words?" Lethe yelled then looked at Mordecai and told him, "They're all beorc. You know all humans have two faces."

"Yes some humans are like, but…some are kind. And Colette is definitely one you can trust in," Presea explained.

"Most beorc call us by hated names; look at us with eyes filled with scorn. Sub-human?" She hissed. "Is that how beorc treat their friends? Is that how beorc treat their allies?"

"You're right…Some of us use that name far too readily, but we didn't really know any other name for you all. I'm sorry," Ike apologize.

"You knew no other name for us? Are we really so little to you, human? You, who forced us into slavery? How easily you forget. But we remember how we have suffered at your hands. I will not trust you no matter what the king says. I warn you now…never speak to me in such a way!" Lethe continued to hiss at them.

Suddenly Soren stepped into the conversation, "What's your point? Did you come all this way to complain to us?" He began to laugh a little. "Typical sub-humans." The way Soren said that and the way he looked at the laguz it reminded Lloyd of the way his friend Genis would look at humans.

"_Lloyd…I feel like I'm starting to hate humans more and more."_ Genis once told him.

This caused both of the laguz to hiss and growl at Soren. He didn't back down, he simply spat, "You nothing but filthy, hairy sub-humans!"

Mordecai let out a bloody roar then turned back into a tiger. "Kill him!" Lethe ordered.

Mordecai began to charge at Soren. "Hold up!" Lloyd shouted but no one was paying attention.

Just then Ike ran in-between Mordecai and Soren, taking the full blow. He fell to the ground clutching his side. Everyone gasped but Mordecai just jumped over him, still just as determined to take out Soren. So he wiped out his tome and began to cast a wind spell.

Lloyd intended to end this, so he ran toward them. He drew one of his sword with his right hand to stop Mordecai's claws and he used his left arm to knock Soren's tome out of his hands. "Both of you cool it! We're on the same side," Lloyd shouted. After he said that, his exsphere began to glow and Mordecai changed back. Lloyd sheathed his sword and picked up Soren's tome.

"Why did you stop me? You saw what that beast did," Soren asked Lloyd.

"I did, but none of this would have happened if you didn't provoke him," he answered.

Mordecai was sitting on the ground rubbing his head and Colette walked over to see if he was all right. "Ugh, what did I do?" He asked, and then saw that Ike was injured. Rhys was already healing the gash in his side. "Ike! I…I don't know what came over me. I'm so sorry Ike; I didn't mean to hurt you,"

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. Mordecai, please forgive Soren," Ike asked him.

"Ike forgave Mordecai. So now I forgive Soren. No one need be angry."

* * *

After a shaky state, the next morning Lethe and Mordecai guided them to the palace to met with their king. Imminently, a laguz took Ike, Titania, and Soren to the king while the rest were brought to a large room with a balcony overlooking Gallia.

Presea was looking over the balcony when she thought out loud, "This place reminds me of Ozette."

"Yeah, it does look like Ozette. Of course Gallia has laguz not humans…and of course no castles either," Lloyd said after hearing her.

"What's Ozette?" Rolf asked who was standing beside her.

"It…It was my home town," Presea put her head down remembering Judgment that was brought down on Ozette.

"Wait, you mean you lived in a thick forest like this one?" Boyd asked. Presea nodded, still not meeting anyone's gaze.

Then Mia stood up from her chair and asked, "What do you mean 'was' you home town?"

"It was…destroyed…not too long ago," She answered.

"Oh…I'm sorry Presea," Mia walked over to her.

"I've never heard of Ozette, have you Oscar?" Rhys asked the green haired paladin.

Oscar just shook his head, "I didn't even know there was another forest like Gallia on Tellius."

Just then a couple of laguz came in with Ike, Titania, Soren, and even princess Elincia. Then they said, "Lloyd, Presea, and Colette. You three are to meet with king Caineghis now."

Lloyd looked confused and asked, "Why does he want to see us?"

"Yeah, if Caineghis wanted to talk to them, why didn't they come with us in the beginning?" Ike also asked the two laguz.

"He wanted to speak with them privately I would imagine," One of them answered.

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt to see what he wants," Lloyd turned to everyone else and said, "See you all after this is over." The three waved and followed the laguz to the audience chambers.

As they entered they saw Caineghis. He is a big guy with wild, long, red hair. Ranulf was also there along with another guy with dark hair, both standing beside Caineghis.

When the three entered they kneeled in front of the king of Gallia. Upon seeing this, Caineghis said, "Rise. There is no need for such formalities, there is much to discus."

"What is it your Highness?" Colette asked.

"It's really about whom you three are and those gems you have,"

"You mean our Exspheres?" Lloyd asked showing him his blue Exsphere.

The Lion King nodded, and then gestured toward Ranulf who came forward. "Form what we could gather," Ranulf began, "those 'Exsheres' of yours cause us laguz to lose our sanity."

Lloyd looked confused, so he continued, "Remember that tiger that attacked the first time we met? Well I talk to him after we took you to the castle; I asked what was going through his head. He didn't remember what he even did. And let's not forget that when that 'Exshere' glowed he was forced to change back to his humanoid form."

"Lloyd! Something similar happened to Mordecai when he attacked Soren," Colette exclaimed.

"Wait, are you guys saying that because of our Exsheres, you're going crazy or something?" Lloyd asked.

"At this moment I do feel strange energy coming you. But I am not having any trouble in keeping my sanity," Caineghis explained.

"Could it be…" Presea started, "that when a laguz becomes angry and they're around an Exshere, could that cause them to go crazy like that?" Presea speculated.

"That seems to be the case," Caineghis said. "So, where did you all come from and where did you get those?"

Lloyd looked at the girls and Colette whispered, "I think we should tell them the truth, I believe we can trust them." Presea agreed with her.

"Alright," So the three of them began to tell the laguz that they were from a different world. They told them about the Desians, how Exsheres are made, Colette even told them about her journey of World Regeneration and turning into an angel. At first they didn't believe them, but as soon a Colette wiped out her wing they began to. Runalf nearly fell over when he saw Colette's wings; the two lions just went wide eyed.

After the laguz calmed down the king spoke up, "This does change things. I can't exactly let you three wonder around, so I ask you three if you'll help Ike and the rest guard princess Elincia safely Begnion."

Lloyd said, "In all honesty, your majesty, I would like to go and look for our friends. But we don't know this land very well, so we might be better off going with them. What do you two think?" He asked Colette and Presea.

"It's not a bad deal," Prease said.

"I agree. We owe a lot to the mercenaries and who knows we may even run into them on our way," Colette told him.

"Okay, but your highness, can I ask a favors?" Lloyd asked. The king nodded, "If you find anybody with Exsheres, will help them?"

"Yes, I shall keep my nose and eyes open."

Canteus Castle

In the deepest part of the dungeon, two people are being held captive. At first it was for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But now it was because of the strange magic that they performed four days ago. Genis Sage and Zelos Wilder have been questioned during their stay. Surprisingly, they haven't been tortured yet; although Genis would argue that being stuck in a room with Zelos for four day was painful enough. If had any information, he would spill.

The only thing was that they were telling them what they wanted; the soldiers just didn't believe them when they said that they were arts. So here they were, both of them tied to chairs in a windowless room. Right now they were alone because all guards were called to their stations due to suspicious activity.

Zelos let out a defeated sigh, "This just sucks," he threw his head back.

"How long are they planning on keeping us captive here?" Genis shouted struggling in his chair. "I mean we've told them what they wanted and they even said we weren't citizens of Crimea. What's the deal here?"

Just then there came a lot of shouting followed by a huge explosion. "What was that?" Genis cried.

Zelos stayed quiet for a little bit then said, "Genis, cast Fireball on me."

"What? Have you gone crazy?"

"The ropes! We're going to get out of here with all that confusion upstairs," Genis nodded and they began to scoot their chairs to get back to back (although it was hard on Genis because his legs didn't reach the floor). When they were back to back, Genis began to cast a small fireball next to Zelos' tied hands. The fire quickly burnt through the ropes and Zelos immediately untied his feet, and then untied Genis.

Zelos walked up to the locked iron door and said, "Stand back kid, it's my turn. Besides the only way you can fight is with your magic, but with no mana left in you you'll be useless," He smirked at the last sentence. Genis gave him an icy cold look.

"Alright, here goes! **Wind Blade**!" Zelos shouted as wind began to cut through the door. He then kicked the door down and ran out followed by Genis. Zelos then found a chest and started rummaging through it.

He startled Genis when he threw his kendama at him (he nearly dropped it). Zelos tired his sword to his belt and they began to run up the steps. When they reached the top they found a battle field in this new dungeon.

"What is this, some kind of mutiny or something?" Genis thought out loud.

Zelos shrugged, "Who care we can use this to get out of here."

He began to walk away but Genis grabbed his long vest and said, "What about the other prisoners?"

"Who cares, they don't concern us." Zelos tried to walk away but Genis wouldn't let go. Finally, he sighed, "Okay, but only the ones on the way to the exit." But just then a fire spell hit the ceiling above them causing it to cave in.

Genis quickly rolled away. Once the ceiling fell he shouted for Zelos, not seeing him anywhere. _He must be on the other side of this rubble. There's no way that idiot would die so easily._

"I had hoped that would finish you both off," A man dressed in black and red sorcerer's robes said walking toward him. "Well at least I get to prove to people that my magic far surpasses your strange and unusual spells," He said with an insidious smile. He opened his tome and cast another fire spell at Genis. He quickly dodged it and ran into a large room with prison cells and pillars in it; this was where most of the fight was taking place.

The mage caste a wind spell this time, it flung Genis into a nearby pillar. He fell hard to the ground and began coughing up blood. He quickly got back on his feet and ran again.

"Why are you running? Fight back already!" The mage shouted.

_I would if I had enough mana here! _Genis thought angrily. He had only regained about half of his mana since coming here. He was only going to cast a spell when he saw a way to finish him off.

Another wind spell came so Genis dived behind a pillar but not before the wind cut through his shoulder. He clutched his shoulder when the mage began to bombard the pillar with fire. "Come on out you coward!" He shouted.

_He knows I'm here, why doesn't he just cast a spell from under me or above? Unless…_ he thought about the spells the mage used; wind and fire, all attacks head on. _He can't and he believes I can't either._

So Genis jumped up from his hiding place and quickly cast a spell. "**STONE BLAST!" **He shouted as he raised his kendama to the air. Dozens of rocks flew up from under the mages feet.

He fell to the ground and moaned, "How…how can I be defeated by a child."

"Because you underestimated me and because I'm a better strategist then you, you only relied on brute force to defeat me." Genis said as he walked over to him. He then used the ball on top of his kendama to knock the man out.

"Now time to find Zelos and get out of here." Genis turned around to see that a large knight was about to fall on top of him. Genis let out a cry and began to stumble backwards until he fell to the ground. The knight landed a few inches away from Genis' foot. He looked up to see a familiar pink head.

He turned instant red. "P-P-P-P-P-Presea!" he stuttered.

She turn and looked at him and asked, "Genis, what are you doing here?"

"I-I should be the one asking that!" He got back on his feet.

"Your bleeding, Genis," She said so calmly.

"Oh this," he said rubbing his bloody shoulder, "it's nothing." He then shot his fist into the air, but quickly put it down and turned around. He didn't want her to his tears of pain.

Out of nowhere, a blond suddenly ran up to him and hugged him. "Genis! I'm so happy you're all right!" Colette cried. Genis then saw Lloyd running toward them.

"Lloyd, what are you guys doing here?" Genis asked.

"What's it look like, we're freeing all the prisoners," Lloyd answered.

Genis looked around and asked, "Is Raine with you?"

"No, it's just the three of us," Lloyd said sadly.

Colette grabbed Genis' hand and told him, "Come on, we have to get you to Rhys so he can heal you."

"Hold on, we have to find Zelos!" Genis told them.

"What, Zelos is here?" Lloyd asked him.

"Yeah, but we just got separated. Come we have to hurry," he explained.

So they all followed Genis to look for their friend.

* * *

Zelos Wilder was running through a hallway trying to locate the small half-elf when he stumbled across a giant blue cat. It was badly wounded and was struggling to even breathe.

"Well I guess I better put this beast out of its misery." He drew his sword, but as he got closer the cat began to growl madly at him.

"Hold it!" Someone shouted at him. It was a guy who was younger than he was and had blue hair. Blue head looked at the cat then back at Zelos and said, "Did you do that to him?"

"No, but I was just about to put it out of is misery," he answered. Blue head began to clench his fists. Zelos saw this and said, "What's the big deal? You could probably find more of these out in some forest."

"How could you say something like that?" He drew his sword out.

Zelos gave him a cold look and said, "Why don't you put that away before you hurt yourself." Zelos put his sword in front of himself. He knew this guy wanted to fight him.

So they both charged at each other, sword flying madly at each other. When they locked swords Zelos couldn't help but smile. _This kid isn't half bad, but I'm faster. It'll be over quick,_ he thought.

Zelos jumped back and shouted, "Not bad, not bad. But let's see how you block this!" Zelos charged and shouted "**SONIC THRUST!**" The blue swordsmen moved at the last second but Zelos still grazed him badly. The blue swordsmen rested against the wall, clutching his side.

Zelos was about to finish him when he heard someone call his name. _It sounded like_…"Lloyd?" He soon saw four very familiar faces run toward him.

"Zelos! Ike's not our enemy!" Lloyd exclaimed as he waved his arms.

Zelos blinked. He looked from the guy called Ike back to Lloyd. Before he could say anything Colette ran over to the cat, "Oh no, Runalf. Zelos you have to heal him and Ike quick!" She pleaded.

Zelos rubbed the back of his head, then sighed, "Man, how I'm I to say no to that." He saw that Genis was bleeding and said, "Hey Genis, you better get over here too, you look like crap."

Genis gave Zelos the usual death glare but didn't say anything and walk toward the other injured people. Zelos cast Healing Wind and everyone was soon healed. But then the cat suddenly transformed into a man-like being. Zelos fell backwards and Genis jumped a little too.

"How are you feeling Ranulf?" Colette asked the cat man. Ranulf nodded and thanked her.

Zelos looked at Lloyd and whispered, "What the hell is that thing?"

"We'll explain after we get out of here. But don't call them anything other than laguz, they don't like it when you call them anything else," Lloyd whispered back.

"Trust me, I'm not going to piss them off on purpose," He said out loud while standing up.

"So Lloyd…these two your friends?" Ike finally asked.

"Yep, we're his buds. Oh and no hard feelings about kicking you butt, right?" Zelos smirked.

Ike gave Zelos a confused look and said, "Ah…sure. I guess I was the one that started it. You've probably never seen a laguz."

"There, see. We'll get along just fine. I'll introduce myself once we get out of here. So come on." Zelos began to walk away.

Ranulf looked at Lloyd and asked, "Is he always like this?"

"He can be serious. They're only rare moments," he answered.

They had all reached the exit; the only thing was that it was blocked by a knight and two of his soldiers.

Lloyd stepped forward and announced, "Ike, leave this to us, we can handle them." Ike nodded and the rest stepped back to watch.

The knight started laughing and said, "You five against us highly trained Daien soldiers? HA!"

"What's the plan, Genis?" The burnet asked his friend.

"Colette, Presea, take out the two soldiers; Lloyd, Zelos, finish off the knight after my spell." Everyone nodded and went with the plan.

Colette threw her chakrams at one and shouted, "**Triple Ray Satellite!**"

Presea took out the other with axe using, "**Resolute Infliction!**"

They both fell hard to the ground.

Genis finished his chant and cast, "**Stalagmite!**" underneath the knight. He went flying into the air.

Lloyd and Zelos began running up the stalagmite on opposite sides. When they reached the knight they both jumped and shouted "**Cross Thrust!**" both slashing through him.

The mercenaries and the prisoners had looks of amazement on their faces. "That…that was amazing!" Titania finally managed to say.

"Yes, but now they've blocked the exit," Soren pointed out rudely.

"A problem that can easily be fixed," Zelos told them. He walked over the stalagmite, brought his sword around and shouted "**Demon Fang!**" There was now a pathway to the door but Zelos collapsed apparently had used too many arts in a very short about of time.

When they reached to safety they found out that there were only four prisoners pulse Genis and Zelos being held there. People were slowly being transferred to a deferent prison. Everyone introduced themselves to each other.

Even though Genis was happy to find Lloyd he was still worried about his sister. Zelos on the other hand was enjoying himself with all the women in the group. Genis could till this was going to be an interesting journey.

* * *

Yes that last part was an Unison Attack. I'm not sure if I like the reason Zelos and Ike fight, oh well they're guys so I guess it works. I might change it, I might not. I just wanted to get this done. Now the next story I post will not be the next chapter of this. It will be a_ very_ short fanfic. Then I'll return to this story.  
Still taking ideas for Z-skits. I have three in my head now and I'll be making a Z-skit chapter 2 or 3 away.


	6. Chapter 5: On the Sea Again

Sorry about the long wait, I found out that I had to rewrite my book (and I was half-way done too!) and finals had kept me busy. I've reread this story and I really only made grammar corrections. I still don't know when I get the next chapter done, I have to get my book straighten out, shouldn't take too long though. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: On the Sea Again

After their jail break, five of the six prisoners decided to stay and help protect the princess. So now they have reached their destination, Port Toha. Here, they hope to seek passage on a ship that will take them to Begnion. But they certainly didn't expect what they saw.

Toha was just as lively as any other port town at any other time. It was as if all the fighting going on in Crimea didn't exist. The people of Toha were in their own little world it seemed.

"Wow! This town is so…lively," Colette said with much surprise in her voice.

"Yeah but shouldn't they…I don't know be more worry or something?" Lloyd asked.

Ranulf came up, wearing a cloak to hide his laguz features, "It's because this area is fairly isolated. Daein's army hasn't come this far, and so life goes on as before."

"But don't these people realize what's going? I mean their king was just killed," Ike questioned.

"I doesn't concern them so why should they care what happens to the rest of the country, right?" Zelos speculated.

Titania looked at him and said, "That's a harsh way of putting it but he's right."

"Ignorance is a form of bliss, is it not?" Soren asked and then said in disgust, "Humans are shameless creatures that carelessly ignore any misfortune which does not befall them directly. They can turn a blind eye to all manner of wickedness so long as it does not touch them or their kin. They will bow their heads, condemning those victims for bringing calamity upon themselves, and then they will cast their eyes toward heaven in thanks while their neighbors lay dying around them."

As Soren began to walk away he said, "Perhaps they will understand when their sons and daughters are being slaughtered… they will comprehend the misfortunes they so long pretended not to see. I have no sympathy for them."

No one spoke but Ranulf broke that silence, "My goodness, the nastier the truth, the blunter he gets…Quite a delightful staff officer you have there." Ranulf said as he patted Ike's back.

"He, um…he has an undeniable streak of severity in him but...this? Something's bothering him, that's for sure."

"What's wrong, Genis?" Presea asked after seeing very white faced half-elf.

"It's…it's just…What Soren said right now…is exactly what I was thinking. Because I don't fell the least bit sorry for these people either," Genis confessed.

"You and Soren must both be very sensitive to emotions. This town may have proven to be too much for you two," Titania explained to him.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much if I was you," Lloyd reassured his friend. Genis nodded at him.

"All right everyone, I'm going to see a man about a ship. The rest of you get the supplies together," Ranulf announced to the rest of the group.

"You sure you need to be going by yourself? From what I understand, you laguz aren't too popular with the rest of the world," Zelos told him.

"Yes, I would feel better if someone went with you," Colette pleaded with the cat.

Ranulf was a little taken aback by this but just shook his head. "Thanks, but it's not like I'll be wondering around asking for passage. I've got connections here."

Lloyd turned his head toward the town. He couldn't believe that their laguz companions had to hide themselves from a town of people who didn't want to understand them. It almost made him sick to his stomach. This was just as bad as how humans and elves treated half-elves.

As Lloyd glanced at some of the villagers, he noticed a familiar swordsman in purple in the crowd. Suddenly the man ran away so Lloyd took off after him.

Ike was the first to see him take off and shouted at him, "Lloyd where are you going?"

"I'll be back soon!" Lloyd yelled back and continued his pursuit of who he thought was Kratos.

The swordsman was moving gracefully through a thick crowd of people, while Lloyd was trying his best to keep up with the occasional bumping into somebody. Suddenly the man turned into an alley, so Lloyd went down the alley too. But when he did, all he found was a dead end.

"Dad?" He whispered into the empty alley. He could have sworn that he saw Kratos. _Was it just my imagination?_

* * *

Ike, Titania, Zelos, Colette, Mia, Oscar, and Rhys were on their way to restock their equipment while everyone else went to get supplies for the long journey ahead. As they walked through the lively town, they could her a few skirmishes taking place. Suddenly there came a small explosion, not far from where the group was. All the towns people went quiet and looked at the direction. They could see a small smoke stack coming from behind a building.

Ike got worried that it might be the Daein, so he told the rest of them to get back to the inn they were using as a meeting place without any noticed. But Colette could hear the voices from where the explosion took place and smiled. So she quickly ran toward the source. Titania tried to stop her but to no avail. So they did what the mercenaries had been accustomed to; they followed her.

They followed her all the way behind an item shop to find an unconscious man lying on top of a broken crate and a woman with black hair holding pieces of paper. She was mumbling, "I think I over did it a bit."

"Sheena!" Colette cried happily.

The woman turned around to see both Colette and Zelos, "What are you two doing?" She sounded both shocked and relived.

"We could say the same thing, honey," Zelos said.

Colette then noticed Lloyd running toward them and said, "Lloyd your back."

"Lloyd, where did you take off to?" Ike asked him.

"I just went to check out something, and then I heard this commotion and came to see what it was." He then noticed Sheena and smiled, "Sheena you're all right!"

"Wait," Oscar put his hand up to stop all the other conversations, "you mean the same Sheena that tried to kill Colette?"

"The very same," Colette smiled causing the mercenaries to be even more confused.

"We can discuss that later. Right now we have to go and help Regal or he might be killed," Sheena urged them.

"Wait, what happened to Regal?" Lloyd asked.

Sheena answerd, "A few days ago these people from this Begnion place came here to Toha. Apparently, some high class person was killed. So they put the blame on him even though I told them that he was with me the entire time we've been here."

A smile crept over Zelos' face and he said, "So when you say you with Regal, does-" But he was cut off because Sheena threw one of her spell card to cover his mouth. He gave her a blank look while the mercenaries backed away a little.

"Idiot," she murmured then brought her attention back to the rest. "Anyway, they left last night so I started looking for the real culprit. I just found him and as you can see...I went a little over board," she gestured toward the unconscious man who was now moaning.

Ike walked toward her and said, "Luckily, we're heading to Begnion. You're more than welcome to join us if you're willing to help us."

Sheena looked at Lloyd who nodded. She sighed, "I guess I've got no choice."

So as they walked back to the inn, carrying the unconscious culprit with them, they explained to her what it was they were doing. Once they tied the man up: Lloyd, Colette, Presea, Genis, and Zelos (now with the seal removed) filled her in that the mercenaries had no idea where they were from or what they are. Only Ranulf, Caineghis, and another laguz knew that they were from a different world.

Not long after, Titania came in followed by a young girl with short pink hair and red armor.

"Um…Ike, this girl said she knew you," she said not sure about the girl.

"Huh… Marcia? What are you doing here?" Ike asked looking rather surprised.

The girl he called Marcia ran up to him and began shaking his hand eagerly. "Boy, I'm sure glad I found you. I've been flying all over Crimea looking for you so I could pay you back for your help and I know exactly how."

Ike was a little scared by her forwardness, but managed to say, "That's…great Marcia. How do you plan on doing that?"

She smiled, "Word is that you're protecting the princess, I want to help out too."

"Sure, we could use all the help we could get."

Suddenly, Zelos came up and put his arm around Ike. "You're quite the man, Ike. You keep getting all these honeys to join you! They must just flock to you!" he exclaimed with a big grin on his face.

Sheena then pulled Zelos away and hissed at him, "_Behave you stupid Chosen._"

* * *

They were all still waiting for Ranulf to return when they saw a small brigade of Daein appear at the village entrance. Everyone was worried but they tried to stay calm so they wouldn't arouse suspicion. But to make the matter more stressful, the soldiers informed everyone that no one was allowed to leave without their approval.

Out of nowhere Ranulf ran up to them and said, "Things are certainly heating up."

"How did things go on your end?" Ike asked him.

Ranulf nodded, "Everything is set. You all just need to get down to the docks and find a man by the name of Nasir; he'll take you to Begnion."

Colette asked, "Aren't you coming with us Ranulf?"

"I was but…Daein's movements have concerned me. I'm staying here to see what's going on," he answered.

Ike put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Well, good luck to you."

"I should be the one to say that."

Suddenly, a young girl came running toward them and accidently ran into Ranulf. "Oh sorry, I wasn't watching-,"she started but gave a horrified look at him.

"No, pardon me-," he tried to apologize but stoped when he saw the look on her face.

"Eeeeeek! Su-sub-human!" She screamed and ran toward the crowed of people that was coming to see what all the commotion was.

Ranulf reached up for his hood but realized that it fell, exposing his cat ears. He cursed as an angry mob surrounded him.

Just then a big man came and shoved Ranulf a few feet away from the group, making him stumble to the ground.

"How dare you come prowling in this nice town, you filthy sub-human!" A man spat at him as he kicked him in the gut. More and more people came and continued to beat him.

The group watched in horror as they watched Ranulf lay motionless on the ground. Colette had covered her mouth to keep from crying out.

Lloyd clenched his fist and said, "We have to do something!"

"I'm ending this," Ike began to run toward the crowd but Mordecai pulled him back.

"We must leave!" he urged.

Ike gave his a disbelieved look, "No, we have to help Ranulf…"

Mordecai cut him off, "All this noise will attract the attention of the Daein troops," he argued.

"That's why we have to hurry up and help-"

Lethe came up and said, "He'll be fine! Leave him."

"Yes, Ranulf is strong, even stronger than me. It's all right," Mordecai explained.

"But he's not even defending himelf, he's just letting them attack him!" Lloyd shouted.

"Idiot!" Lethe hissed, "Gallia and Crimea are allies now, if he attacks those people then it would be the same as us being enemies."

"But still…"

"Lloyd, I don't like this anymore than you do. But…our job is to get the princess to Begnion. Runalf would be distracting the Daein, we can't let his sacrifice go in vain." Ike said with much distaste.

Lloyd looked at his friends and Genis, who seemed to read his mind, said, "No more sacrifices, right?"

Lloyd nodded and said, "Sorry, but you can't expect me to just turn a blind eye to this."

So he took off toward Ranulf with Genis right behind him. They didn't get too close to him because they didn't want their Exsheres to cause Ranulf to transform, which would not help their cause.

"All of you stop!" Lloyd shouted. The villagers did stop to look at the two kids.

"What do you boys want? Can't you see that we need to get rid of this monster?" One of them said.

"All I see are a bunch of monsters attacking a defenseless person!" Lloyd yelled.

Another one of the villagers came forward and told them, "You're just a bunch of kids; you wouldn't understand how evil these things are."

"No, you all don't understand," Genis rebuked. "It's not Ranulf's fault that he's a laguz. No one can control what spices they are."

Colette then ran up next to them and cried, "That's right. They're not evil; it's just that none of you will take the time to get to know them. You're king saw the good in them."

Some of the villagers gasped at this and gave worried glances at each other. But then someone shouted, "They're the ones the Daein guys are after!"

"Hey, you're right," another man agreed. He then waved his arms to get the Daein's attention. "Over here! There are some suspicious folk over here!"

"Hold up, what the hell are you guys doing? Wasn't your king killed by these guys?" Zelos asked them.

Some of the villagers looked down in shame while other stood tall. One of the younger ones cried out, "I heard the king was teamin' up with those sub-humans! That's what killed him!"

A woman nodded and said, "If we need allies, I'll take flesh-and-blood Daein humans over some fanged sub-human freak!"

"Trust your own kind!" Others cheered.

"You bunch of cowards!" Sheena hissed.

"I can't believe that they would do such a thing," Presea said astounded.

Just then some of the vigilantes came and all of them ran behind them. With the villagers out of the way, Ike ran to help Ranulf. He was horribly bruised and bloody. "You guys are idiots," he managed to breath.

Lloyd walked closer and said, "That might be true. But I made a vowel; I'm not letting anyone else become a sacrifice,"

Ranulf looked him for a minuet then smirked. But just then the Daein were nearing, so Runalf made his decision. "Good luck guys, you'll be fine. As for me…I think I'll play a little game of cat and mouse with these Daein fools," he anounced as he threw off his cloak.

"But Ranulf, you hurt badly," Ike objected to it.

"Don't worry, I'm tougher than that. Besides I have no intention on being a sacrifice," he said as he looked at Lloyd. "Lloyd, Genis, Colette, thank you." He then transformed to his cat form and ran away from the Toha which half of the Daein soldiers followed.

Presea ran to them and urged them to come on because the vigilantes and Daein troops were nearing. So very reluctantly everyone quickly made their way to the ship.

* * *

Zihark stood a few yards away from the riot that just took place. He couldn't believe what he just saw; a group of _humans_ were defending a _laguz. _It did his heart good to see that he wasn't the only one who valued laguz life. Growing up in Daein he was used to prejudice against the laguz, not this.

So Zihark made his choice; he was going to help them escape, _at all cost_.

He quickly began looking for them, but they had blended into the crowd really well. Suddenly, he heard a familiar cry of a cat laguz. So he ran in the direction of the sound to see a female cat laguz, two young girls, and a boy using a bow. Zihark stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that the younger girl was wielding an axe that was bigger than her. He wondered how she was able to do that but he let it pass because there were other pressing matters at hand. They were surrounded by Daein troops!

The young archer tried to shoot one of the soldiers but he missed. So the Daein took his opportunity to attack the archer but the blond woman defended him with her chakrams. The cat laguz took her chance and killed him with her claws.

But another one was about to attack the laguz, so Zihark lunged forward and cut him down. He turned around and brought down two more. With the Daein taken care of, the laguz turned her attention to him now and lunged at him. Zihark jumped back just in time to see her claw come within an inch of his face.

"I'm not your enemy!" He shouted, but that didn't stop her.

Suddenly, the blond girl ran up and pleaded with the laguz, "Lethe! Please stop!"

The cat jumped back and transformed into her humanoid form. She gave the blond girl a questioning look. "How can we trust him? We don't even know him," she hissed.

"Then we'll ask him what he wants," Presea said.

Zihark sighed in relief, glad not to be fighting them. "My name is Zihark. All I want to do is help you all escape."

"How exactly do you plan on that?" Lethe hissed.

"I can distract the townspeople while you all make your escape."

"Unacceptable," Presea said.

"That's right; we're not going to leave you behind. So you'll just have to settle with coming us," The blond girl smiled.

Lethe and Zihark both couldn't believe that she said that. But Lethe yelled at her, "We just met him, Colette! How can we trust him?"

"Lethe, he saved us when he didn't have to. So I trust him," Colette explained.

So without further delay they all made their way to the ship.

* * *

Ike, Soren, Genis, and Sheena arrived first at the docks to find 3 Daein soldiers guarding the ship they needed to board. They glanced over some crates to see what they were up against; just two guys with lances and a knight.

"Only three, it seems they're underestimating us," Soren observed. "Genis and I can take care of the lance men, then Ike and Sheena will charge at the knight."

Ike nodded and so did Sheena, but Genis seemed to have his mind in the gutter. "Genis?" Ike said as he gently shook him.

Genis snapped back into reality. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Ike knew that he wasn't but it wasn't the time to ask.

Soren and Genis made their first move; Soren attacked one with his wind spell while Genis attaked the other with Fireball. With the two lance men down Sheena charged first and threw one of her spell cards at the knight. With a few hand signs she yelled, "**Serpent Seal!**" The knight made a muffled sound as a snake like cloud constricted him. "Now Ike!"

Ike was surprised at her power but continued his advance. When he got there he sliced through the knight's waist and watched as he fell in to the ocean.

"Get everyone on board, now!"

* * *

Everybody finally got on board shortly after (they even had the criminal safely secured) and was now making their slow journey to Begnion. On their way they met a stowaway named Sothe. He was a little kid who was rude to everyone. But he didn't mean any harm and he said he was looking for someone in Begnion, so Ike allowed him to stay.

Thing were going well until they reached the islands that the bird laguz lived. That was when Nasir got worried.

They reached the halfway point when the ship got stuck in reef amd a bunch of laguz pirates were pursuing them! So they were left with no choice but to stand and fight.

Mist, Mordecai Zihark, and Boyd stayed down below to protect the princess will everyone else was stayed on the deck to fend off the crow laguz.

So Soren, Genis, and Zelos would cast wind spells (although Genis and Zelos couldn't cast as much as Soren, Zelos at least used physical attacks to make up for it.) Rolf shot his bow as his brother Oscar and Mia guarded him. Everyone else was on their own.

Lloyd was having a difficult time fighting them because they moved so much. Of course he wasn't having as much trouble as Presea; her attacks were so slow that the crows would wait at the last minute to dodge. But a few times one of them would get cocky and be met with Presea's axe.

But there was another reason for Lloyd; a few weeks ago he had stood up against the townspeople about attacking Ranulf, now he was doing the same thing almost. _They attacked us first! It's only self-defense! _He kept telling himself that.

He then noticed that a crow was going to attack Ike from behind. So quickly ran and jumped on top of its back and stabbed it.

Ike turned around in astonishment as he saw Lloyd land on the deck. "Thanks," he breathed.

Lloyd nodded but they both quickly noticed that Rhys, Sheena, and Colette were getting swarmed by them. The two swordsmen ran toward the front of the ship to help but one of the crows got its talons into Colette's shoulder and dropped her into the ocean.

"Colette!" Lloyd shouted.

Sheena quickly threw a paper bomb at the giant bird and made it explode.

Suddenly, Colette came flying back onto the deck. Lloyd and the others sighed in relief. But the mercenaries and the crows all stood with wide eyes and jaws open. Some of the crow forgot that they had to flap their wings and fell into the ocean; while others were flying away in fright at the sight of a human with wings.

* * *

A few miles away from the ship, three hawk laguz (in their humanoid form) were watching the scene until they had to catch the one who stopped flying.

"Janaff, what the blazes is wrong with you?" The larger one of the three called Tibarn asked him.

Janaff was hyperventilating and began to point at the direction of the ship, "A-a-a girl! Wi-wi-with w-wings!" He stuttered between breathes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there might be a few female crows out there," the other one called Ulki told him.

"No!" Janaff shouted. "She's not a laguz! She's a beorc with _wings!_"

Both looked at him with concern until Tibarn said, "Okay, you've been in the sun to long. Let's just get you home before you really start to really lose it." He and Ulki then began to drag him.

"King Tibarn! I'm telling you I'm not crazy, I know what I saw!" he protested as they flew back.

* * *

The battle was over and everyone was safe, all thanks to Colette scaring the crap out of the crows. No one spoke for the longest time until Colette apologized to Lloyd.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd. You told me not to use my angle powers but I did anyway."

Lloyd began to chuckle and said, "You dork. Everyone is safe because of you. You did well."

Genis walked up and pointed out that they were still stuck. So Presea suggested that Sheena try to summon a spirit.

"Alright," she said, "I'll give it a shot. I haven't tried summoning since we got here." She pulled out one of her spell cards and did a few hand signs as she began to chant. "**I call upon the maiden of the mist! I summon the! Come forth ****Undine!"**

Suddenly, water began to raise and a mermaid like being appeared before them. With a few movements with her hand a giant wave came and swept them over the reef. Once they began to sail again, Undine disappeared. As soon as she did Sheena passed out, luckily Zelos caught her.

Ike was the first to regain his self and waked toward them. "Do you all care to explain what just happened?" He asked.

Lloyd looked at his friends to see what he should do. Zelos answered his unasked question, "We might as well tell them Lloyd, we're going to be stuck with them for a while on this ship."

So everyone went below deck and the group told the mercenaries everything. Their world, the Journey of Regeneration, fighting Cruxis, Exspheres, Desians, everything. Although Zelos lost his speaking privileges after Sheena regain conciseness. The most difficult thing for them to believe was that Zelos was also a Chosen like Colette.

"This is a lot to take in," Ike said after they finished their meal.

"Now I understand why you didn't know anything about laguz. They must not exist in your world," Rhys said to Colette.

Colette nodded and Genis explained, "Yeah, in our world, there are humans, elves and dwarves. And I'm…what's known as a half-elf." Genis was still trying to be comfortable with admitting he was a half-elf.

* * *

That night Lloyd couldn't sleep, a lot had happened that day. So he decided to get some fresh ocean air. When he walked up to the deck he saw Genis leaning over the edge.

"Genis? You're not sea sick are you?"

Genis jumped at his voice but went back to his position. "No, I feel find," he said but his face said different.

Guessing what was bothering him Lloyd tried to comfort him by saying, "It's a good thing that the Professor isn't here, she definitely wouldn't like being on this ship for this long."

"Huh? Oh…yeah, Raine. I hope she's okay."

Lloyd was confused, sure Genis was worried about Raine but that wasn't what was bothering him right now. "What's got you like this?"

He could tell Genis was debating whether or not to tell him. But he finally said, "It's Soren."

"Sure Soren's a little rude, but he seems trustworthy."

Genis gave a frustrated sigh and said, "I knew that you wouldn't understand."

"Well Genis, tell me what I don't understand."

"He's like me Lloyd. He's caught in between just like me."

Lloyd thought about that for a little bit, and then said, "Do you mean that he's like…half-laguz…or something?"

Genis nodded, "Yeah. The things he says and the way he looks at others…it's exactly how I was when I hated everybody. When I look at him, I see myself before I met you Lloyd. But I had Raine with me, Soren has been alone all his life until now."

Now Lloyd understood, Genis was worried that Soren might be like Mithos. "If you're feeling like this you should talk to him. Maybe you'll both feel better about who you are."

"Geez Lloyd, I can't believe I was expecting some great wisdom from you," he sighed.

"Hey, if want my advice take it; if you don't, don't."

"At least you're here for me Lloyd, even if you do give crappy advice."

* * *

Back in the desert, Raine had been staying with a group of laguz that were trying to fight back against Begnion because they still were using them as slaves. Some of them weren't happy when Tormod and Muarim brought her back to their hideout, but they quickly got over it when she began to heal them. They also began to trust her when she tried to explain that she wasn't a beorcs but a half-elf; she was able to relate to them.

So now they were trying to persuade her to join them, but really she had no interest in fighting a battle that did not concern her. But she couldn't really abandon them either.

Right now she was outside studying the pillar structure when she realized she wasn't alone. She could tell that someone was following her.

So she walked behind some sand dunes and called out, "You can come out now."

Shortly, a hermit with green hair came out from behind a sand dune. "You quite perspective, aren't you?"

Raine noticed that he was carrying a sword so she raised her staff in defense. This made the hermit laugh, "Oh I have no intention of harming you miss. I was only curious about how it was the laguz here were able to tolerate you. But now that I've gotten this close I realize you're not human."

She looked him over and then said, "Neither are you. Let me guess; in you flows both laguz and human blood, correct?"

He sighed, "Yes, but what about you? You and I are not the same."

So Raine tried her best to give him the short version of her story; not everything, just her being a half-elf and coming from another world.

After she was done the hermit rubbed his brow. "Amazing," he said, "to think that in other worlds prejudice exist as it does in this one. Is this the fate for all those who are stuck in-between?"

"I don't know. But a student of mine had an idea of have a world in which everyone that is born has the right to live. That is what inspired my brother and I to travel the world and help those like us. It may take years but I believe that people can change."

"I'll have to ponder on that one as I wonder the desert miss."

"Call me Raine," she told him.

He nodded, "I'm Stefan. So Raine, what are you going to do, join the laguz's rebellion?"

"I'm more interested to find my brother and friends," she admitted.

Stefan began to walk away and he said, "Well good luck to you, Raine. Hope you find what you're looking for."

Raine kept on watching him until he was out of sight. _What a strange person,_ she thought, _perhaps being in this desert for a long time will do that to a person. _

* * *

I'm just going to say this, I'm not going to be talking about every fire emblem character in this, there is just too many! I'll be focesing more on the mercenaries and the playable laguz. If you all want to see another character on here, tell me and I'll put them in the story. It's not a big deal to talk about them; I just don't want to include people that people don't like and have no real purpose in the story except to just fight the battles. As you may have already known I skip a few battles and in this chapter I changed the story line some, this may happen a little. One more chapter before the skit chapter, I now have 5 z-skit in my head now.


	7. Chapter 6: Allies

Okay it's fianlly done. Hope you like it. It may take a little bit for the Z-skit chapter coz I have to come up with conversations. I have had a lot of request about having Kratos in this and I was playing with the idea and I like it.  
Important: **(this means auther note in the story)** also I don't own the games _obviously._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Allies**

Yuan Ka-Fai was wondering why the hell he was left with the laguz while Kratos Aurion was off who knows where looking for the Eternal Sword. Now he was waiting for the all the laguz kings to finish their meeting to talk about the Daein's movement so he can warn them about the Exspheres.

To think that this all started when he and Kratos ended up in Goldoa, the land of the dragon laguz, after the Eternal Sword sent them to this strange world. Thing really got out of hand when two laguz accidently found and somehow equipped an Exshere to them. They went out of control and transformed into their dragon form, killing some of their friends and family. So Yuan and Kratos were forced to kill them before they hurt anyone else or them. They would have been executed for what they did, had it not been for one of the laguz they had saved. His name is Kurthnaga and he just so happened to be the son of the dragon king, Dheginsea.

So Kurthnaga spoke to his father on their behalf. So that was when they explained to him about being from a different world and how Exspheres are dangerous to them. Dheginsea took them more seriously after he saw that they were angels.

So he was, out in the middle of nowhere waiting for them to finish because the beast king had wanted to talk about Daein. He also had to watch Noishe who got easily scared when the laguz transformed.

Suddenly, Noishe sat up with his ears twitching.

"What is it?" Yuan asked, although not sure why he did seeing as Noishe doesn't talk.

When he said that, Noishe took off toward a familiar swordsman.

"Your timing is as crappy as ever," Yuan said when he saw Kratos. Kratos didn't respond but simply scratched behind Noishe's ears.

Yuan noticed that Kratos had Lloyd's Material swords tied around his back. "I see you've found the Eternal Sword."

Kratos just nodded, not really paying attention. But before Yuan could ask, Kratos answered, "I saw Lloyd."

Yuan jumped down from his rock and asked, "Well, did you tell him about the Exsheres?"

He just shook his head. "He saw me in Toha but I got away. Besides, if he does find an Exspere he'll know what to do."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Yuan had to fight hard not to yell, they both didn't want the other laguz to hear them until the dragon king introduced them.

"Right now he's looking for his friends and it looked like he's helping a group of people from here. We have relied on Lloyd far too much and this is partly our fault to begin with. When the time is right we'll let Lloyd know."

Yuan agreed and they both sat down and listen to the meeting, to Yuan it was extremely boring seeing as he didn't know what they were talking about.

But suddenly, the hawk king said something that sparked an interest. "…I saw that ship that you attack, crow, but one of my hawks went crazy before we could find out anything."

"What do you mean by that, Tibarn?" The beast king asked.

The hawk sighed, "he just kept going on and on about seeing a beorc with wings-"

Yuan jumped to his feet and thought out loud, "Wings? That must be the Chosen!"

Yuan had spoken too loud for the laguz kings had had all stopped talking. "Who is that?" The white heron asked.

They could both hear Dheginsea's frustration, "My fellow kings, there was another reason for this meeting."

Now it was their time. So they walked in and immediately were meet with much dissatisfaction, save for the beast king. "You two have Exsperes."

"That is precisely the reason they are here," the dragon informed them.

So Kratos and Yuan explained to them the dangers of the Exsperes for them. While the laguz looked worried about this, the crow wanted to know if they could harness the power without the negative side effects.

"I do not wish to even experiment that, as I'm sure the rest of you all do not want to sacrifice your people, it's too dangerous," Kratos told them.

The beast king nodded, "Yes, several of my people have gone out of control just by being around that small stone, I would want no part with them."

"So you've already encountered them?" Yuan asked.

"I met three young beorcs who had those stones equipped not long ago. The one named Lloyd asked that I help anyone who had them, so within my power I will do what I can to help."

"All that we ask is that you return to your lands and gather Exsperes if they are there. And make sure that no one equips it, if that happens you'll have to end their lives before they end yours," Kratos informed him.

"Well that's a bit harsh, isn't?" The hawk said, "Couldn't we just remove the stone instead?"

"You're welcomed to try but it's nearly impossible to do. The Exspere becomes embedded to the skin and not only that they're not just going to sit still long enough for you to take them off," Yuan explained with some rudeness in his voice.

Begnion

After two more weeks at sea, the group finally made it to the holy city of Begnion. But before they reached their destination, they were saved by the most unlikely person from a crow laguz. A Daein Wyvern Rider! The crow attempted to kill Colette, probably one of the crows that ran away after seeing her wings. Then out of nowhere, the female Daein swooped in and took the blow that was intended for Colette. After Titania finished the laguz off, Colette had pleaded with Rhys and Mist to heal the Daein. Ike didn't like the idea, but Soren jumped at the idea saying that they could gain so much information from her. Reluctantly, Ike agreed with Soren saying it would be best if they could keep their eyes on her.

Of course Colette being Colette tried to befriend the Daein. She didn't want any part of it but Colette did find out that her name was Jill and that she had followed them to try and capture the princess but saw the laguz attack and couldn't stand by as humans were being attacked by 'sub-humans'.

So now the pegasus knights were leading them to meet with the Apostle Sanaki about helping Princess Elincia. Lloyd and the others also joined them because the knights had told them to plead to the Apostle about freeing Regal.

But no one really was prepared when they saw that the Apostle was a small child! Before they had reached Begnion, Soren had explained to them that the Apostle was a symbol for the people. She was the voice of the Goddess, a vessel. The role of the Apostle and the Chosen seemed the same but yet were completely different; the Apostle was not for sacrifice. After hearing that, Colette seemed to become depressed but of course wouldn't tell anyone. Zelos just looked outraged; Lloyd hadn't ever seen him that angry.

Now in the presence of Sanaki, Lloyd could hardly stand her. She was sitting on her big throne and was practically insulting Elincia's claim to being Crimea's heir. Lloyd wanted to speak out but knew from past experience that it was not a good idea to. **(When you first meet her she does seem like a brat but after you get Ryson she is a very likable character.)**

Ike on the other hand didn't seem to know that. "How dare you mock Elincia after all she's been through? We didn't come all this way just for you to insult her!"

Suddenly one of the senators stood up and yelled, "How dare _you_ insult the Apostle! You shell be condemned to death for that!"

"Silence!" Sanaki ordered, and then she began to laugh. "Sephiran was right about you. You are very interesting."

Lloyd whispered to Genis, "That was the monk we rescued from the prison, right?"

Genis nodded.

Sanaki continued, "He has already claimed that you are indeed the true princess. I apologize for testing you. You see life here in the palace is _dreadfully_ dull. I am always so very bored. Thanks to this little interrogation it has proved to be an amusing diversion."

Elincia was trying hard not cry but her hands were shaking badly as the other senators were complementing Sanaki for her 'wits and words'.

"What is this?" Ike yelled. Everyone was looking at him with wide eyes, but that didn't stop him. "You knew that she was the princess yet you continued to humiliate her for your own entertainment? This some stupid joke! We're talking about people's lives here! You all are just a bunch of horrid people!"

The senator stood up once more, "Wretched peasant! Guards, seize them!"

Instantly, they were surrounded by guards. Colette took a step back but accidently tripped and fell down. But when she did fall her wings came out.

Upon seeing this, the senators cowered in fear; one of them even said it was the Goddess' judgment. The guards backed up slowly and Zelos stepped in front of Colette.

At first, Lloyd thought that Zelos was going to use the Spiritua story again. But Zelos wasn't the same as he was, his face was much darker. "You've said that you're the Goddess' vessel. Well, me and Colette here are that too; only for us it was nothing more than a cruel hoax. I wonder…are you being tricked too?"

"That's blasphemy! How could you say such things?" One of the senators roared.

"We'll how do you explain Colette's wing, huh? Tell me that."

The senators looked at each other nervously.

"Well…let me ask you something, _Apostle_, have you grown up with everyone telling you that your sole purpose in life was to die? How would you like it if you were five years old and your parents told you that you would die for the Goddess?"

Colette had bowed her head to hide her face and Sanaki just sat there dumbstruck.

Zelos went on, "So here's some advice, from one vessel to another, before you go around and complain about how bad your life is; hows about you get off your damn high chair and go out into the real world. Not everyone gets the cushiony _dull_ life in your palace as you do."

After that Zelos stormed out of the throne room. Colette then ran after him and Lloyd could have sworn that he saw tears rolling down Colette's face.

Lloyd began to follow them but Sheena grabbed his shoulder. "They'll be fine; right now we need to help Regal."

She was right; there really wasn't anything they could do for them. Right now they had to save Regal.

* * *

After about another hour with the Apostle, Lloyd and the others were heading toward the prison. The Apostle had agreed to the exchange prisoners on one condition, they had to do a few small jobs for the senators because of Zelos' little outburst. Surprisingly, no one was angry at him. They still hadn't heard a word form Zelos or Colette; they were probably around here somewhere.

Ike and the others, on the other hand, had to stop some bandits on the border. To Lloyd he would have rather gone on that mission instead of working for the senators. Their jobs would consist of doing small, meaningless jobs.

As they approached the prison, Lloyd and Presea saw a familiar face. A knight in blue armor was standing beside a doorway.

"Gatrie?" Presea said.

The knight looked over to where his name was called. It took him a little bit to realize who they were. "Oh…you two are Colette's friends, Lloyd and Presea…right? Small world, huh?"

"I guess you could say that. Is Shinon with you? How'd you get here?" Lloyd was amazed to see him here and didn't know were to start.

Gatrie's bright face darkened a little, "Well…shortly after we left Gallia we went our separate ways and I ended up here as a bodyguard for a noble. But I always did feel bad about leaving Ike after what just happened."

"Then why did you leave if you felt bad about it?" Lloyd yelled at him, "I thought they were your friends! Do you have any idea what we went through? We were ambushed by the Daein not long after you two left and all those fights would have been a hell of a lot easier if you two were there!" **(Anyone eles think that or was it just me?)**

"I'm sorry," Gatrie said with a look of guilt.

"Don't tell us, you need to say that to Ike," Presea told him.

"Wait, are you saying that Ike and the others are here?" He said with much disbelief.

Presea nodded and Lloyd explained, "Yeah, they came here to ask for help from the Apostle about Crimea. You should go talk with them."

"Yeah I'll go do that after my shift."

So they continued on their way to the prison. They walked down some steps and the guard led them to one of the cells that held their friend. Regal was shocked when he saw Lloyd and the others and even more so when the guard unlocked his cell and told him he was free to go.

"You all came for me?" He said as the guard released him from his shackles.

"Haven't you learned by now, you're our friend," Lloyd told him.

Regal smiled but then he looks at Sheena and said, "I had wondered what would happen to you after I was arrested."

"Well as soon as that happened I looked for the real person behind the murder," Sheena explained.

"Yeah Regal, you couldn't seriously think that we would just let you go to prison for a crime you didn't commit," said Genis.

"Come on Regal, we'll explain what's happen. Let's just get out of here," Lloyd said as he made his way to the exit.

"Indeed," Regal said as he followed them out.

* * *

Ike and Mist were wondering around the gardens while Soren and Titania were deciding who was going on the mission marrow; then Ike would read over the name and agree to it or not. Soon they saw Zelos lying on top of a small, stone wall and Colette sitting in the grass having one arm wrapped around her legs and the other picking at the grass.

Ike motioned for Mist to go and talk to Colette. Mist immediately sat down next to her. When Colette saw her she began to smile and giggle.

So Ike walked over toward Zelos and asked if he was alright.

Apparently, Zelos didn't know anyone else was in the gardens because he looked so surprise to see him. "I'm fine, I just got pissed off, that's all," he said as he sat up.

Ike blinked; all of this was just seemed so out of character for him, especially his outburst in the throne room.

"What?" Zelos said.

Ike didn't realize that he was staring; then shook his head. "It's just that up till now I always thought of you as some woman chasing guy who didn't take anything seriously."

Then Zelos did something Ike was expecting, he laughed, "Lloyd said the same thing to me, I'm just a guy full of surprises." He then jumped down and began to walk away and asked, "Where's the food, I'm starving."

Old Town

The mercenaries that had been a part of the mission were now gathering the crates that the bandits had. The bandits were no match for them, so the fight didn't last long. But near the end, the bandits had released some laguz. But they seemed strange to Ike, something was wrong with them he could tell.

"Hey Ike, we got everything loaded," Gatrie reported. That was one good thing about this, Gatrie joined back up with them.

"Alright." Ike walked over to rest but noticed that a certain mage was missing. He looked over at Titania. "Have you seen Soren anywhere?"

She shook her head and said, "It's not like him to just disappear, I'll go look for him."

"No I'll look, you just take care of things here," he told her as he walked away. Then he muttered, "He of all people knows not to wonder off."

He found him on his knees beside a dead laguz. "Soren? Just what are you doing?"

Soren looked over his shoulder and motioned Ike over.

He got beside the young mage as Soren showed him what was in his bloodied hand. In his hand was a small, red stone. It looked like…

"It was attached to their chest; I believe it to be an Exphere."

Ike's eyes widened. He looked back at Soren to see that his crimson eyes grew darker. He took the stone from his hand and examined it._ To think that something so small can hold someone's life! _It was sick to think that people would turn others into these stones, and it was even more sickening to think that they were causing harm in this world.

"Do you think those bandits put these stones on them?" He asked.

"Ha, those idiots didn't have a clue about anything. No, someone else must have done it." Soren said coolly.

"Okay then, Soren, you keep looking here for more of these stones. I'll go get the others and have them look to." Ike ordered as he stood up.

"Alright commander. What do you plan to do with them thought?"

"Give them to Lloyd; he'll know what to do with them."

* * *

As soon as the mercenaries returned, they were given another job. Luckily, though, Lloyd and the others had finished their jobs so they would join them in the desert. Ike had given Lloyd a bag that held the Expheres, they had found 7 total.

So Lloyd and the others destroyed the small stones so there wasn't a trace left. Ike had felt uncomfortable about it but Genis had tried to explain that it was the best thing to do. It would free the soul and to make sure that no one ever found out how to make the stones so that way this world would not suffer as their world had.

So two days later the group made their way to the desert, according to the Apostle some rebels were out there. Ike sent a few people out to scope the area. Two of those people were Soren and Genis.

Together they walked in-between the maze of dunes. Every once in a while they would see an old pillar sticking out of the ground. "Raine would have a field day with all these ruins we're finding," Soren heard him say.

"Raine…that's your sister, right?"

"Ye…yeah," Genis stuttered.

Something was up with the young half-elf; he had been acting weird ever since they left Crimea. So Soren decided to make casual conversation to try and find out what was bugging him. "So are you and your sister close?"

"Yeah, but really I see her more as my mother then my sister. She did raise me after all."

Soren stayed quiet, something inside him was eating at him. Even though Genis didn't have parents like him, he still had his sister to care for him. Soren had nothing; no idea where he came from, what his parents were like, nothing but sad memories. He wished he had some shred of information about himself, all the other mercenaries knew who they were. _Is this jealousy I'm feeling?_ Soren asked himself.

Suddenly, he felt someone coming toward them, and it was a branded like him. Soren brought out his tome; seeing this Genis got his kendama out. Without hesitation the branded appeared before them. He had green hair and had his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. But as he looked at them his eyes lingered on Genis.

"Do you by any chance have a sister named Raine?" He asked.

Both of the magic users were confused; then Genis said, "Yeah, but how do you know my sister's name?"

The branded seemed satisfied and quickly grabbed Genis and took off. **(To me Stefan seems like a strang person, but I still like him.)**

Soren tried to catch him but the swordsman was too fast. _Damn, _he thought, but then he realized something. _Why did he take Genis? _Confused at the situation he ran back to the others, which running in the running in the scorching hot desert in dark cloths probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.

When he reached the others, he was soaked in his own sweat and was having a hard time catching his breath.

"Soren, what's the matter? Where's Genis?" Ike asked when he saw him.

"Some…strange hermit…or something, just grabbed him…and took off," he wheezed.

"Damn it, we have to go look for him," Lloyd yelled.

"I don't think we'll be able to at this time," Regal told them.

All of them looked at him and not long after that they were surrounded by laguz.

Ike drew his sword and shouted, "It looks like we're forced to fight. Come on everyone!"

* * *

Genis was trying to get out of the hermit's grip but failed. He had been wondering where he was taking him but soon saw an ancient temple. The swordsman was making his way to the back and slipped in an opening. He then dropped Genis and said, "This who you were looking?"

Genis looked up to see who was looking for him and to his amazement it was Raine. They both ran toward each other and hugged.

"Thank goodness you're alright," she cried when they released each other.

"I guess I should've known you'd be somewhere with ruins," he smirked.

Raine just gave him a cold look, but then looked back at the hermit and thanked him.

Suddenly and young voice shouted, "Miss Raine, we're under attack!" Two people ran into the room they were in, one a young boy about Genis' age and the other a laguz. The young boy saw the two others and demanded to know who they were.

"Little one we don't have time for this, we have to stop the Begnion soldiers," the laguz to the small human.

"Wait, they're not Begnion soldiers, they're our friends," Genis yelled.

Raine looked at her brother and asked, "You don't mean Lloyd and the others do you?"

Genis nodded and Reine looked at the others, "Tormod, Muarim, we have to stop them so innocent blood is not shed. This is a misunderstanding, I'm sure we can work this out peacefully."

Reluctantly, Tormod agreed and so they took off to try and stop everyone. When they reached the battle, Genis ran up and shouted, "**Icicle!**" A row of ice separated the laguz and the mercenaries. The ice didn't last long but long enough for everyone to stop fighting.

Once everyone settled, the leaders of the groups meet and heard each other's side of the story. After Ike heard that Tormod was trying to free all the slaves that were still trapped in Begnion, Ike agreed to set up a meeting for them with the Apostle. So they wrote a letter to the Apostle explaining the situation which Colette flew in order to give it to her personally. A day later she returned saying that the Apostle wanted to meet with the leader and try to help. Although, with all the things they had to do, it seemed that the Apostle was up to something.

Even though Lloyd was glad that everything worked out, he still wondered what he was going to do. He found all his friends and he did as the beast king had asked. What he wanted to do was to continue to help Ike and the others but he would have to talk it over with the others.

* * *

Now the gangs all together, so what adventurs await them now? After the Z-skit will be Ryson.


	8. ZSkits

A short little chapter with no plot development. I will get chapter 7 done as soon as I can.

* * *

**Z-Skits **

These takes place on their way back to Begnion. When Colette returned, it was too late to travel so they stayed with the laguz. These are set up like z-skits so they won't be very detailed. Hope you enjoy the convos!

**My Rival **

Mia: Colette! It's you!

Colette: Uh, well of course it's me. Who else would it be?

Mia having her hands on her head: No! How could I have let this happen! You were in front of me this whole time, how could I befriend you!

Confused look from Colette.

Rhys, also looking confused: Mia…care to explain.

Mia: It makes sense now. She saves me from the Daein and thus our rivalry begins!

Mia now pointing at Colette: Colette, I won't lose to you!

Rolf: Not this again. First Rhys, now Colette! Mia can't you pick someone who already knows how to use a sword?

Mia: But the fortune teller said-

Rhys: That's another thing, Mia; you can't take what fortune tellers say seriously.

Colette: Well good luck…I guess.

Mia: Ha! See, Colette and I are rivals! *Runs off.

Rhys: Please don't provoke her.

**(I wish in Fire Emblem games had face expresions)**

**The Same**

Soren: ….

Genis walks in: Hey Soren can I ask you something?

Soren: Sure, what is it?

Genis: Well it's about, *sigh*…You have human and laguz blood in you, don't you?"

Soren attempts to leave, but Genis stops him: I know how it feels; to live in a world that hates you just because you were born different, to have to hide who you really are, feeling that you're completely alone. For the longest time, I was afraid Lloyd would find out and that he would reject me. But when he did all of them still risked their lives to save Raine and me. I even asked him why he came to save me. You'll never guess what he said.

Soren didn't say anything but continued to listen.

Genis: He said 'What's your point? You're our friends!' The only thing I regret is not telling Lloyd myself.

After some silence between to two, Soren speaks: I've noticed that I've begun to age much slower. In a few more years they'll realize that I'm different.

Genis: That's why you got to tell them before then, make them understand. All you mercenaries are like a family. Ike, Titania, mist, they all care about you. Not everyone is as ignorant as the people of Toha.

Soren: Genis…T-thank you. It's going to take time for me to gain the courage, but…it's nice to hear words of encouragement. *Walks away.

Genis: Soren…you'll be fine, after all Ike seems to be a simple-minded person like Lloyd.

**Cooking**

Oscar: Oh, Mist. I didn't know you had cooking duty. What are you fixing?

Mist: Not sure. I thought it would be nice for everyone from the other world to have a meal they're more familiar with. One of them gave me a recipe for something called 'curry'.

Oscar: What a strange thing to call a dish.

Mist: Yeah and it even smells weird too. I don't even know how it's supposed to tast.

Walks in Regal: I thought that was what I smelt.

Mist: Regal! This was supposed to be a surprise for you all.

Regal: That is most kind of you.

Mist: I guess since you're here, do you mind tasting this for me.

Regal: Of course. But who gave you the recipe though.

Mist: Oh…I got it from Raine. She was really excited that I was going to use one of her own recipes.

Regal looking sick: Raine's curry, even if it was made by someone else, is punishment no one deserves.

Both Mist and Oscar looked a little scared.

Regal: Here, I help you make a new batch.

Mist: O-okay.

Oscar: I'll help too.

**Laguz**

Jill: You're Raine, right? Can I ask you something?

Raine: Go ahead.

Jill: You stayed with the sub-, ah mean laguz, for a few months, how was it like?

Raine: Well, speaking from a scholars stand point; they form communities much like ours, they know people they like and dislike, and eat similar foods as us. So to answer your question, it was no different than if I was with a bunch of humans. But that's not what you're asking is it?

Jill: Growing up, I was taught that laguz would kill you if you so much as look at them. But now…I don't know what to think.

Tormod runs up: How could you say that! You're just a Daein dog who'll believe anything you hear.

Jill: You little brat!

Raine: Both of you calm down! Tormod, you want people to see that the laguz are not evil; and Jill, you want to know what we see in them. So both of you take the first steps to understand each other.

**Starring Problems **

Gatrie: *sigh*

Zelos: What are you looking at?

Gatrie startled: Oh…uh…nothing!

Zelos: Hey, there's Sheena.

Gatrie blushing: I wasn't looking at her chest or anything!

Zelos: Don't worry about it. I'm sure Sheena wants people to stare at her. Why else would ahe show that much cleavage?

Sheena: What did you just say?

Zelos: Huh?

*Kick to the face*

Sheena continuing to kick him: We don't need another pervert around here!

Gatrie slowly walking away: Those two defiantly have something.

**(I got this idea from Midnight Blue Cross, thanks!)**

**Axes**

Boyd: I've been meaning to ask you why you us an ax, Presea, anything else must be easier to use?

Presea: My daddy was a lumberjack, so when he got sick I took over his job.

Titania: So it's for sentimental reasons.

Mordecai: You are still a very tiny beorc to be using such a big weapon.I have such a difficult time just holding it.

Boyd: Really, let me try…oh…jeez *huff* how can you even lift this thing?

Presea: Don't feel bad, Boyd. I wouldn't be able to fight as well as I do if it wasn't for my Exshere.

Boyd: Y-yeah, but why is your ax so large?

Presea: The trees are much thicker in our world then they are here.

Titania: I think I'll just stick with my hand ax.

**(Anyone eles wondered why Presea's ax is that big? Heres a answer for that.)**

**Why We Fight**

Ike: Lloyd, your sword skills are self-taught, right?

Lloyd: Yeah, but my dad helped smoothed some of them out. Although, at the time I didn't know he was my real dad.

Ike: W-what?

Lloyd: It's a long complicated story, but thanks to him I was able to rescue Colette.

Ike: So that's why you fight. My father taught me in order to protect everyone in the company.

Lloyd: Okay, so what about you Sothe, why do fight?

Sothe looking very startled by being dragged into the conversation: Huh? Why did you just drag me in all of a sudden?

Lloyd: Well you're no stranger with a dagger, so why do fight?

Sothe: …

Ike: You've said something about looking for your sister.

Sothe: S-she's not my sister. But she is someone important to me.

Lloyd: Whether you're related by blood or not that person is still important.

Sothe: She's always taken care of me; one of these days I'm going to take care of her.

Ike: Well then, I'll help you with that goal.

Sothe: Wait, you don't have-

Lloyd: Yeah, I'll help to. So when do we start training?

Sothe: Sheesh, I never asked either of you to help me.

**(In Radiant Dawn Sothe seemed to really look up to Ike even though in the first game we never see so much as a diologe between the two so I made a conversation were Sothe seems to look up to Ike**.)

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed that! I liked writing these, so I may be writing another Z-Skit chapter. Alright so on to chapter 7.


	9. Chapter 7: The White Prince

Yes it's **finally **FINISHED! I'm tell an you, putting in applications for collage and writing essays in my AP classes have been taking almost all my time. Also this story scarred me a little, maybe becaues I had to write Oliver in it. Anyway I stayed up past midnight to finish this so if the ending sucks thats why.  
**Importante, please read:** Normally, I can't stand people who turn characters gay when they are not. But I believe that Oliver is. In fact the things they say to Oliver I got from youtube commits on a Fire emblem walkthrough.  
Another thing is I ask all of you who read this to please go on my account a vote on what story I should write next, so I can go ahead and plan it out. No point in writing a story that no one is going to read.  
On to the story then!

* * *

**Chapter 7: White Prince **

"Why would you bring me such an ill-mannered child?" Apostle Sanaki yelled at Ike as she sat up from her seat.

"Look who's callen who a child!" Tormod shouted angrily at the Apostle.

Both Ike and Sigrun would calm each of them down and then the yelling match would begin again. It had been going on like this for over an hour and Lloyd was sick of it!

Somehow Lloyd was drafted into going in this meeting, no one from the other world wanted to be in the same room with the Apostle (especially Colette and Zelos). The only other ones in the room were Titania and Soren.

Ike looked like he was ready to strangle someone, Soren was board, Sigrun and Titania both looked exhausted.

Finally, Sanaki was calmed downed and sat back down in her seat. "As I have _said,_ there isn't a single laguz that is still in slavery. They were all set free years ago."

"Lair!" Tormod shouted at her. "At this very moment there are still laguz being held by the nobility. Oh and the sentient, don't get me started-"

Ike grabbed him by the shoulder and told him, "You need to keep a cool head."

"But-" As soon as Tormod said that the Apostle seemed like she was about to argue back, until Lloyd did something incredibly reckless.

"All of you _shut it_!" Everyone was shocked to see what Lloyd what had done. When he saw everyone's face he realized his mistake, but figured that he might as well say what else was on his mind. "What about you cut the lies as Tormod said and tell us what's really going on."

"What do you mean? I've told you all you need to know," Sanaki told him, but her tone was quite different.

"You mean to tell me that when Ike and the others ran into a slave trade and we run into a liberation group calming that there are still laguz slaves, that it was all just a coincidence?"

Ike stepped forward and said, "Instead of using your own forces you hire us, why is that? Is it because you don't want others to know that there is still slavery here?"

A smirk crossed Sanaki's face as she said, "You all aren't as clueless as you look. Fine I'll tell you." 

"Okay, how the _hell_ did we end up doing this?" Zelos complained as they were getting closer to one of the senators mansion.

"Come on Zelos, if we do this then the Apostle will help Princess Elincia take back her country," Colette told him.

"I don't mind helping the princess, but did we really have to listen to that brat?" Zelos asked but knew the answer before he even said it. "Still though, why did I have to come?"

"Wasn't it you who was bragging that you could get us into the mansion because you yourself are a noble?" Soren questioned him.

Zelos gave the young mage an evil look, "You're a real smart ass, ya know that."

"Cool it, both of you!" Sheena snapped.

"Look, the sooner we get proof that this senate guy is involved in the slave trade, the sooner we can get out of here," Ike said as they were only a few feet away from the gate.

Only a small group came along; Lloyd, Colette, Zelos, Sheena, Mist, Titania, and Soren were the ones Ike picked. They all had the plan set. Sheena, Mist, and Titania would sneak around the grounds for anything the Duke might hide. The rest of them were going inside with orders from the Apostil to search his mansion for laguz.

"Okay, we'll spilt up for now. You three be careful," Ike cautioned them.

"Ike, don't worry so much," Mist reassured him.

The three women took off and the others made their way to the gate. The mansion seemed to loom over them as they got closer and the gates obviously meant to keep the curious out. Guards were stationed at the entrance and others were patrolling the grounds.

"Normally the rich want to flaunt their wealth, not hide it," Zelos whispered to Lloyd.

He nodded, _I have a feeling this noble will be like no other we've seen._

"Halt! What business do you have with Duke Tanas?" The guard asked when they stopped in front of the gate.

"We've come here at the request of the Apostle, "Ike answered.

The guard's eyes were wide with horror, "The A-Apostil!" He cleared his throat and continued, "Tell me your business and I'll inform the Duke."

Soren glared at the man, "Do you really expect us to just tell you out here in the open? This is confidential!"

"We do have the Apostil's seal to prove it," Colette said as she showed him.

After examining it the guard, very reluctantly, showed them through the gate and into the mansion. The inside was completely different from the outside. There were statues and artwork of every kind all around them.

"Wow," Colette stared at in amazement, "This seems more like an art museum than a home."

"This Duke Tanas certainly didn't spare any expense," Lloyd said as he looked around.

Soon after that, a relatively fat man came down the stairs. "Welcome all to my beautiful home. I hear you're here for the Apostle, what might that be?"

Colette handed him the letter and he quickly scanned it. "Slavery! That's preposterous! I would never do something as low as buy a laguz!"

"Well you know how it is; rumors float around the public that one of the senators has a laguz in their possession, the Apostil has no choice but to check it out," Zelos commented.

"Yeah," Ike said, playing off what Zelos said, "So let us do our job and we'll be out of here before you know it."

Oliver sighed, "Very well. Come, I shall show you my glorious house."

As they began Lloyd said, "Did you get in a fight? Your nose looks broken."

The Duke was a little startled and said, "Well no, I fell and that ruined my beautiful face."

As Oliver walked a little ways ahead, Lloyd said, "I never thought I'd say it but I think we found someone vainer than Zelos."

"That's just harsh bud."

Mist sighed, "We've looked and look but there isn't laguz around."

"We can't give up yet Mist," Titania said as she patted Mist on the shoulder.

"I know."

In all honesty, Sheena would have liked to search on her own. Mist and Titania were in no way sneaky, most of the time they would have to knock out a guard before they alerted the others and hid them in a bush. But it was no use to complain about it now she figured.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she saw it. Perhaps it was the pure whiteness against the dark stones that allowed her to notice. "Is that an…angel?" She said when she looked up one of the towers. In the highest window, she saw someone with wings the same color as his pure white clothes.

Mist gasped when she saw him and Titania couldn't believe it. "Could it…No it couldn't, a heron?"

The women watched as someone suddenly came and forced the heron laguz away from the window.

"Come on," Sheena said, released from the trance now. "We found what we were looking for, let's go find the others and tell them."

Right after she said that, a guard shouted after seeing them. Shortly, more were coming toward them.

"Sheena, get out of here and find out how to get to the laguz," Titania ordered.

"But, what about you two?"

Mist smiled at her and said, "We'll tell my brother, you just find the laguz."

"Alright, I set off a smoke bomb and you guys run." She told them.

They both nodded and as the cloud of smoked cover them Sheena quickly disappeared. She now wished could take back what she thought about going it alone.

"As you can see you have searched every corner of my fine estate. So can report back to the Apostil that those rumors were false," Oliver announced when they reached the last room.

_This can't be the last room! There has to be some proof that he's involved with the slave trade, not after all this time we had to spend with this man! _Ike groaned he thought about it. This senator was strange man and if you thought about what he said for too long it could potentially scar your mind.

Everyone else was feeling the same way. But what was even more frustrating was that Colette said she heard wing flapping and when they asked Oliver if he had any birds, he answered no. So they knew he somehow had a bird laguz. But they haven't found even a single feather.

Suddenly, a few guards rushed in with Titania and Mist in their clutches. "Duke Tanas!" One of the guards exclaimed, "We found these two sneaking around!"

"Mist! Titania!" Ike yelled.

Oliver looked back from Ike to the guards in confusion. "What is this?"

Mist struggled under her captors hands. "Brother!" She cried, "We saw him! A laguz! We saw a laguz!"

Lloyd couldn't hide his smirk, "Well…it seems you've forgotten a room."

"Why don't you show us what we came here so can be on our way," Ike said calmly.

"W-w-w-what are you talking about?" Oliver stammered, "This girl speaks nonsense!"

"I don't know duke; you sure are sweating up a storm. You look like a guilty man," Zelos said.

Soren stepped up and announced, "We could do this the easy way or the hard way, Duke Tanas."

Oliver began to quiver at the door and the guards went to protect him. Then he cried out, "I'll never let you take my work of art!"

Everyone just stared at the duke, all confused at his statement. Lloyd was the first to recover, "Wait, we're all talking about the same thing…right?"

"Yeah, I thought we were talking about a laguz, not a…a painting?" Colette stared in confusion.

As Oliver stared in horror then ran out of the room screaming, "No one can appreciate his beauty but me!" The guards quickly ran after him and were having a hard time keeping up with him (he ran pretty fast for a fat man.)

But Ike and the others just stood there, all of them not sure on how to respond to that. Except Soren, "That is just wrong on so many levels."

"What a sick bastard," Zelos said with disgust.

"Come on, let's just find this laguz. And Soren don't explain what just happened to Mist!" Ike ordered after he saw that Soren was about to tell Mist what the duke was meaning.

Colette looked at Lloyd and Zelos and said, "I don't think I understand either."

"It's best you don't, Colette," Titania told her.

"Get her!" One of the guards screamed before he was kicked in the face by the female ninja. Sheena then attacked another one with her power seal.

She was getting nowhere! She found where they had hidden the laguz but there was just no end to the guards.

"Sheena!" She heard someone shout. She turned around to see Lloyd and the others taking care of the last few.

"Wow, you all got here fast," she said out loud, it hadn't even been ten minutes since the alarm went off.

"Well…once Ike asked them if they were willing to die for Duke Tanas, almost all of them dropped their weapons and got the hell out of here," Lloyd said blackly.

Sheena looked at them in confusion and Titania replied, "It's a long story, anyway have you found the laguz yet?"

She shook her head, "I know he has to be somewhere in this area."

Colette then walked over to the wall and placed her ear against it. "I hear it again, wings flapping."

"So we're going to have to break thought, huh," Lloyd said.

But as Colette stepped back, she somehow fell backwards. When she landed on the ground the wall began to slide open.

"See what I told you, Colette's trips are miracles!" Zelos laughed.

"Nice Colette. Alright, come on we're not finished here yet," Ike said as he walked through the hidden passage.

After Lloyd helped Colette up, they all quickly followed Ike. Just a little ways up some well-lit stairs they came across the room that was holding the white laguz.

The bird laguz back away from them; fear written all over his face.

Ike stepped forward with his hands out, "We don't want to hurt you, just want to help."

The laguz closed his eyes and laughed softly, "That's rich, coming from scum like you."

Suddenly, he dashed toward the window and jumped through the glass. **(I think Reyson is cool enough to jump through glass.)**

Everybody rushed to the window, halfway thinking he fell when he really was just flying outside the window, to see that the laguz's feathers were ruffled a little bit and had small, bloody cuts on his arms and wings. Before he flew away, he shouted, "If you really wanted to help me where were you when my people were being killed by your kind all those years ago!"

Colette was about to jump out after him when Lloyd grabbed her by the waist to pull her back into the room, but both of them fell to the floor.

"But he's hurt," she said when she got to her knees, "we can't just leave him on his own."

Titania got next to her and said softly, "You would have only scarred him more when he saw your wing Colette."

Colette looked down in shame because she didn't think of that. Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her.

Soren picked up on of the heron's feathers on the stone floor. "Well…at least we have some proof," he grumbled. But then he saw that Ike was still transfixed at the place the laguz once was. "Are you alright commander?"

Ike turned to leave and said, "Come on, we're heading back to the capital." They had never heard such a tone from the young commander.

Mist looked at her brother, "Ike, what's wrong?"

"The Apostil has some questions to answer."

A few days later in Serenes Forest

"All of you hurry and find my precious little heron!" Oliver shouted at his troops.

Oliver and his troops have been camped out in the middle of Serenes Forest trying to find the heron prince for three days. You could tell by the way the troops looked they felt much discomfort listening to what the duke had to say about the laguz. The only reason most of them we're here was because they were in need of money or they were forced into work for idiotic reasons.

One of the soldiers walked up to the duke and gave his report, "We've found nothing on our end…sir."

"What! You must hurry and find him. Only I can appreciate his beauty!" Oliver said as he got right in the soldiers face.

But the soldier was gritting his teeth, fighting the urge to stab the sick, fat man. Luckily another one of the soldiers walked up and grabbed the other soldier by the shoulder and said calmly, "Don't worry Duke Tanas, we'll find the prince."

He then led them both further away after Oliver gave them leave. Once far enough, they saw a familiar white and green animal waiting for them patiently. The irritated one threw down his helmet reviling his long blue hair. He looked angrily at his companion, "Kratos! I swear, if that damn human gets close to me again I'm gonna kill him!"

The other one, Kratos, held his helmet under his arm as he said, "Calm down, right now we have to use that man in order to find the white prince. We promised the hawk king we'd help search for him."

Yuan took a deep breath and looked around him, "Hard to believe this forsake forest was once home the heron laguz. It's too much to say he was home sick, why would he come here and not the the hawk tribe?"

"He must have his reasons and from what I could tell from the meeting he is a stubborn as the hawk king. We're not getting anything done by standing around." Kratos began walking away with Noishe at his heels.

Yuan didn't move, but said, "Answer me this, Kratos," Kratos stopped but didn't turn to face his friend, "Were you thinking about killing that human too?"

"It…may have crossed my mind…once or twice." He then continued to walking further through the forest, but Yuan couldn't hide his smirk.

As they were walking Kratos was studying the dead trees and the burnt ground. "It's sad that almost a whole race is about died out just because of rumors," he said as he remembered the story of what happened here. The citizens of Begnion came and burnt Serenes and its people just because someone they suspected that the heron laguz was the reason for the previous Apostil's death.

Yuan scoffed, "If those idiots had thought about it, even a little bit, they would have realized that the herons wouldn't have been able to have even attempt such a thing as assassination."

Suddenly, Noishe began to whine and they drew there weapons. Suddenly a heron came out into view, but not the one they were looking for. This one was a female heron.

When the laguz saw them she backed away quickly. Seeing this Yuan and Kratos dropped their weapons.

Kratos stepped slowly toward her, showing that he had nothing in his hands, saying, "We don't want to hurt you."

She still looked worried, until Noishe trotted toward her and she began to pet him. As she did she was talking, but in a different language.

"Can you tell us your name?" Yuan asked trying to make sense of it all.

She responded, but in words they did not understand.

He sighed as he looked at Kratos, "It looks like she understands us but we don't understand her. So, what now? This definitely isn't the prince."

"We'll just have to take her back to the hawk king now. It would be bad if the duke found her." Suddenly Kratos flew up, looking around them. "The duke's soldiers…they're all over the place."

Hearing the approaching men, Yuan said, "We'll never get her out of here in time." The only way they could get out of this mess was if they got to the edge of the forest and then fly toward Phoenicis with one of them carrying Noishe (yes, they had to carry him as they flew). But two humans carrying a large green and white animal and a pure white laguz would easily noticeable.

"We'll just have to distract them while Noishe gets her away," Kratos said as he looked at Noishe. He walked over to the creature and patted his head. "Get her out of here," Kratos told him.

Noishe nodded and began to lead the way.

The laguz looked at Kratos and Yuan questioningly. "Follow him," he gestured toward Noishe. Reluctantly, she followed him.

Kratos and Yuan picked up their swords. "How many do you think we'll take out before we take off ourselves?" Yuan asked.

"You can count if you like; we'll just see who'll last longer."

"Well, if it's going to be like that," Yuan said as he threw his sword down and summoned his Double-Edged Blade, "I might as well go all out."

The two of them charged on the oncoming troops.

Leanne had been followed the strange creature for a while now. She had asked it were it was taking her and it would reply, away from the "bad guys". She trusted it as well as the two beorcs she had just met, even though there was something very strange about the three of them. But she really had to find her brother, Reyson, who was out here somewhere in great pain.

The creature that was called Noishe wasn't walking very fast but it was still very difficult for her to keep up. She soon began to breathe harder as her legs became heavier.

Suddenly, Noishe stopped and lifted his ears, then began to howl with joy.

He took off quickly and shouted, (_Lloyd! Lloyd!) _So she ran after him but stopped behind a dead tree to see another group of beorcs. The next thing she saw was Noishe pouncing on top a young beorc in red.

"Noishe?" Lloyd gasped when he realized what was on top of him. Noishe continued to lick Lloyd's face happily, he had obviously missed him.

"Noishe is in this world too?" Genis said wondering who else could be here.

Finally, Lloyd was able to shove Noishe off and get back on his feet.

"It's good to see you too," Lloyd said as he was stroking the creature's fur.

"Lloyd? …What the hell is that?" Nasir asked, for some reason he came along even though he couldn't fight.

Lloyd looked at the people from this world to see that they were just as confuse. Colette and the others were all happy to see Noishe. "What are you taking about, Noishe is a dog." **(Lloyd and the others don't know what Noishe really are and I didn't feel like looking up how to spell whatever Noishe is.)**

"That's what a dog looks like in their world?" Mist whispered to her brother, not taking her eyes off the "dog".

"That sure is the weirdest dog I've ever seen."

All of a sudden Nasir looked up and his face went pale. When they looked to see what he was seeing they saw her, the female heron. But when she tried to walk toward them she collapsed.

Ike ran over to her and carefully lifted her head. Noishe was right behind him and was licking her hand, whining.

Soon the mercenaries and the world travelers surrounded them as Raine examined the laguz.

"She's just unconscious," Raine declared.

Everyone sighed with relief, but Nasir still looked troubled. "How, how could there still be another heron laguz here?"

"I don't know but today seems to be my lucky day!" A familiar narcissistic voice said.

They all turned to see Oliver and his many troops around him.

_Damn it! How the hell they sneak up behind us?" _Lloyd wondered angrily.

"Now, hand me the lovely heron so I can be on my way to find my other work of art," the duke demanded.

Ike lifted the laguz onto Noishe's back and then drew his sword. "No way. You'll have to get through us before you get your sick hands on her."

The dead forest quickly became a battlefield. The group acted as a barrier for Noishe and the laguz. He watched as Lloyd and the others cut through each of Oliver's soldiers. He was perfectly calm until the beast laguz would get near him, and then he would get scared and fight the urge to run away.

At first the duke didn't seem to worry the mercenaries were lowering his numbers; until they got within attack range. After tumbling away from Genis's and Soren's combined wind spells, he looked at one of his officers and yelled at him, "Where are my reinforcements!"

"They must still be fighting against the two traitors, sir," the solider guessed.

The duke hissed furiously and got up. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!" He wiped out a yellow book from his pouch.

Soren instantly recognized what it was and pulled Genis out of the way of Oliver's powerful light spell.

"He can use magic!" Ike exclaimed after he stabbed a halberdier in the stomach.

Soren regrouped with Ike. "At least it's only light element. It's not as strong as other spells but I recommend not to get hit by it."

"Don't get hit, huh? Great advise!" Zelos said sarcastically after he just dodged another spell.

Suddenly there was a sharp cry from a hawk. Everyone stopped the fight to see a giant hawk fly down tearing through several of the duke's troops. He was followed by two other hawks and a…heron?

They landed next Noishe, which caused him to fidget, and then they transformed into their humanoid forms. The heron was indeed the same one they had seen in the duke's mansion. He had blood stains, but other than that he was unharmed.

One of the hawks was shaking and pointing at Colette, mumbling something about wings. This caused the other birds to look at him with worry.

Oliver was practically jumping with joy when he saw Reyson. "All of you kill all these ugly things and bring me my heron!" He cried with delight.

The bigger hawk stepped in front of the herons protectively. One of the few soldiers left ran up to the hawk in hopes of taking it out in its current form.

But when he brought his sword up to attack, it wasn't the laguz his sword hit but Colette. She fell to the ground hard with a large slice across her back. The bird laguzs' eyes were wide with shock; it was obvious they had never seen a human protect a laguz.

The solider who had hurt Colette didn't know what happened next because Lloyd quickly stabbed him. He dropped his swords and wrapped his arms around her. "Colette?" He called to her..

She looked up and attempted to smile at him but the pain was visible on her face. He pulled her closer to him as he waited for the professor to rush over to heal her.

Regal and Presea quickly charged at Oliver. Presea hit the ground in front of him so hard the rocks caused Oliver to fly up into the air. Regal jumped up and used his eagle dive to crush him into the ground. Ike ran and dealt the final blow. It was over. **(I don't care what happens in the game Oliver is dead!)**

They were able to convince Reyson to talk with the Apostil. The other heron turned out to be Reyson's sister. When she regained conciseness, there was a happy reunion between the two siblings. Colette was also fine, just needed a little rest. As they waited they soon saw Sigrun, Elincia, and Apostil Sanaki.

"The Apostil herself has come in the middle of a forest to meet with the laguz," Zelos said out loud.

"I thought it was a certain red head who told me I needed to get off my high chair and see the world," she rebuked calmly.

Zelos gave a nerves laugh, "I guess he did."

Suddenly, the Apostil did the most surprising thing, she bowed. As low as she could get to the ground, she begged Prince Reyson to forgive her people for what had happened to Serenes Forest.

But Reyson refused to accept her apology. Leanne tried to persuade her brother, but to no avail.

Lloyd couldn't take it anymore. "What's wrong? You have someone who wasn't even alive when this massacre happened begging for forgiveness." Everyone was a littler taken aback by Lloyd's outburst.

Then Presea stepped up, "I know how you feel, to have everything you love taken away from you. I wanted to continue to hate the people responsible. But my hate brought nothing; it only caused me to close my heart even more."

"You may think that by refusing to make amends with Begnion that it'll make things better, but it won't, no one's coming back. Hate only brings more hate," Lloyd argued.

Reyson looked down in shame and looked at his sister, "This is what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it, Leanne?"

She nodded and said a few things in their language and so finally Reyson forgave the Apostil and said they would work toward better relations.

* * *

Hope you like this, I'm not to happy with the ending. I didn't even look over it, I'm just trying to get this out before I go to church. Please Vote and review. Thank you and Good day!


	10. Chapter 8: War!

I am so sorry for the wait! But I got it so hopfully it was worth the wait. Please bear with me on the first part, I was just trying to get it done so we can get to the good part.

Also I fixed the poll so if you tried to vote last time and it wasn't there it's fixed now. I also got summries for those stories. So please revote if you can.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8: War!**

The heron siblings had breathed new life into their home. It was truly a wonder to spectate. In turn, Presea had found new hope for rebuilding Ozette.

"Have I seen you somewhere else, boy?" Was what the hawk king, Tibarn, asked Lloyd after it was over.

Lloyd picked through his mind but he was sure that today was the first he had ever seen him.

When Lloyd didn't reply one of the other hawks, Janaff, added, "Yeah, he does look like that other beorc."

"Other beorc?" Colette repeated.

"I had asked two beorcs to help us find Reyson, but I guess technically they weren't really beorcs." Tibarn said.

It actually took a few minutes for things to click in Lloyds mind. "I knew dad was here!"

"What, Kratos is here too?" Genis exclaimed.

"Yeah, I saw him in port Toha. But he ran away before I could talk to him."

"The other beorc must be Yuan," Sheena suggested.

Regal nodded, "I doubt that either of them could stay away from the final battle, no matter the injuries Kratos may have received."

"Hold up, I may not know a lot about the life span of a beorc but he was too young to have a child," Tibarn argued.

"It's a long story," Lloyd muttered. "Is he still here?"

"We saw them after we found Reyson. But they took off to continue their search."

Disappointed that they had already left Lloyd said, "Their search? In search of what?"

"Exspheres," the hawk king answered.

/~/~/

Lloyd couldn't believe that Kratos was keeping him in the dark, again! Was he really that unreliable? But then again no one really did ask him to do anything; he just ended up in the middle of thing. You know like him getting the Eternal Sword and merging the two worlds.

But then he realized that he didn't even know if that worked. None of them knew what happened to their worlds after they were transported here.

For the time being though, Lloyd and the others had more pressing matters. Princess Elincia was able to gain Begnion's support and even the bird tribe. Ike was even given the title Lord and was now the general of the liberation army.

All of these were good news for Ike and them but not for the world travelers. There was much disagreement on what to do next. Wither it was to help to retake Crimea or go on their own journey to try and go home.

"Look, there is no point in us getting involved with this anymore," Professor Raine told Lloyd.

"Princess Elincia and Ike are going to need us now more than ever," Lloyd rebuked.

"Sorry Lloyd, but I'm going to have to side with Raine on this," Zelos said. "I don't want to be risking my life for a world I'm not even from."

Sheena stood up when she said, "But how is this any different from when we saved the two worlds?"

"I agree, how can we say we saved our worlds if we won't even help the people in front of us?" Colette argued.

Raine gave an irritated sigh. "All of you are missing the big point. This is _war_. War is completely different from the battles we fought. The atmosphere, the enemy, everything will be different. Can you say that you'll be able to handle it?"

Everybody was silent, probably all thinking the same thing. Then Regal voiced what they were thinking, "Our world has not seen full scale war for over 4,000 years. So all of us cannot fully comprehend what war really is."

"It's just that…I think I'll regret not helping them. I'm sure that things are different in war than the battles we fought, but we've all gone through enough stuff that I believe we can handle it," Lloyd explained to them.

After a few minutes, Raine finally caved but on one condition; they got out if it became too dangerous or hopeless.

/~/~/

A week after they joined the army, they finally reached Daein's boarder. But before they could enter Daein they had to pass Tor Garen, the supposed impenetrable wall. It was the only place that cut through the mountains. The mountains were dangerously cold and would be suicide if they tried to climb them. So through Tor Garen they go!

According to Tanith, the deputy commander of Begnion's Holy Guard, security had tightened, which was strange. Normally there just a few foot soldiers but now there was a whole platoon.

Before they could attack they were going to have to not only take out the guards on top and make a door into the fort like wall.

"No problem," Genis had said.

They hid in the forest while the half- elf executes his powerful spell. Although once he did he would be out for this battle. A large, purple magic circle appeared underneath Genis.

/~/~/

On top of the wall, one of the soldiers saw the bright light through the trees. In fear that it was the alleged Crimea Liberation Army, he turned to his fellow soldier who was playing cards with two others. "Uh, Jimmy…I think we're under attack."

The three card players all groaned, "Goddess rookie!" Jimmy said, "That's the fourteenth time during this shift that you've spotted the enemy!"

"But I-"

One of the others cut him off. "Look rookie, you're going to have to loosen up. If we listen to every rumor about attacks we'd be on edge the whole time we're here."

"Seriously," another one muttered. "The captain is taking this tip way to serious."

The rookie looked back at the forest to see that the light was gone. He figured he was just paranoid or tired.

But then he saw a small orb of light above all their heads. "Um, Jimmy?" He backed toward the others nervously.

"O my goddess, rookie, _WHAT_!" But when he saw what the rookie saw he picked up his weapon and stared at the orb. "What the hell is _that_?"

He was answered with bolts of lightning striking them. Suddenly, the floor beneath them caved in.

/~/~/

Ike and the others watched in amazement as Genis' Indignation busted through the wall to the fort.

"Great job Genis!" Lloyd praised his friend.

Genis fell to his knees and gave a weak laugh. "Just don't ask me to do that again for a while."

When the final stones fell to the ground they moved out. Genis stayed behind with a few others. Tanith lead some of her Pegasus knight and the two hawk laguz to the skies to fight with the wyvern riders. Rest of the group was going to take the fort while the Daein soldiers were probably in chaos.

/~/~/

"What the hell is going on?" Commander Kayachey yelled at one of his soldiers.

"From what some have said, a large bolt of lightning struck that caused the south wall to collapses," the soldier told his superior officer.

"WHAT!" Kayachey bellowed so loud that recruits nearby jumped. His eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. "There isn't a lightning spell on this continent that's powerful enough to destroy that wall!"

Right after he said that began to here dying screams and sounds of steal hitting steal. Within seconds a soldier came running in clutching his bloody shoulder.

"_Now _what's happening?"

The soldier straightened up letting his bloody arm hang loosely by his side. "The Crimean army is attacking. I'm sorry sir, they took us by surprise."

If it was possible for Kayachey's eyes to get any wider then they just did. "Well, we'll just have to show them the strength of the Daein army." An insidious smile crept up on his mouth. "I want their dead bodies in front of me."

A round of cheers echoed around him; but they were soon drowned out by a sudden burst of wind. Suddenly, the wind began to cut through the three soldiers that were standing in front of Kayachey. They fell with a thud as their blood began to cover the stone floor.

Knowing that it was a spell, Kayachey quickly scanned for the enemy caster. He quickly found the intruder sitting on the stairs leading up to the top, twirling a short sword. The man's long red hair rippled with the last bit of wind magic in the room.

"Ya know," the man started, "I really didn't want to get caught up in all this fighting. But since I'm here I might as well try and end it. One way I could do that is by eliminating the boss man." The red head jumped down and landed a few feet away from Kayachey. "I take that's you, right?" A sly smile played across the man's face.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing; this guy was challenging him directly. _Well then, I think I'll make him regret fighting me alone._ "All of you back off, I will handle this one myself," he ordered his men who had already begun to surround the swordsmen. "Go and fight the army and don't let a single one through!"

Obediently the Daein soldiers left to meet the Crimean army in battle.

"For a second I thought I was going to have a challenge, but with all your guards gone this will be a piece of cake," the swordsmen said with the same smile.

"That cockiness will be the death of you," Kayachey sneered. "I normally would learn the name of the person I fight, but now I see no need for it."

"We'll see," the swordsmen's smile turned into a frown.

He took the first move as he charged at Kayachey and swung his short sword in an attempt to decapitate him. Lucky for Kayachey he got down just in time. He then opened his tome and cast a very powerful wind spell that hit the swordsmen square in the chest.

The red head was sent flying to the wall. The force of the impact caused some cracks in the stones around were the swordsmen hit.

He recovered quickly and stood up with a bewildered look. "Come on, damn it, another magic user!" He wined, "It's so not fair, you guys get to cast spell after spell, while I can only use a few of my artes!"

Kayachey raised an eyebrow, wondering if the swordsmen had hit his head to hard. But round two soon began.

/~/~/

Lloyd let out a battle cry as he sliced through an enemy's chest. The soldier staggered then fell to the ground. Lloyd scoped the area to check and see if his friends were still okay.

He hoped Genis would stay safe.

Colette was by his side, she was healed from the fight at Serenes but he made her promise that she would stick close by.

Professor Raine was in one of the corners healing their wounded.

Presea had just sliced through a knight's armor.

He saw Sheena use one of her cards to blow up one unfortunate soldier.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Regal kicked someone square in the jaw. _That's defiantly broken_, Lloyd thought with a shudder.

Zelos was…wait, where was Zelos? He looked around more carefully but still couldn't spot the red headed Chosen. He went through his memory to see if Zelos was even in this fight; several of them weren't.

"Isn't Zelos supposed to be here? I don't see him anywhere," he asked Colette.

Colette looked around for herself, "I'm pretty sure he was with us when we stormed this place."

"Surely, that idiot didn't go wondering off on his own," Sheena said over the noise, overhearing them.

Lloyd just shrugged; he figured that Zelos wasn't doing anything reckless.

Suddenly, Rolf, who Lloyd and Colette were keeping the Daeins from attacking, just took off down the hall.

"Rolf, wait!" Colette called after him.

She ran after him which, in turn, caused Lloyd to run after her.

_Damn it, what is with him?_ Lloyd wondered as he followed them. Rolf was always the careful one; it wasn't like him to just run off by himself. Especially in a battle!

Colette and Lloyd chased after him a little ways until they spotted Rolf. But they saw him hugging one of the enemy soldiers.

There was something vaguely familiar about this soldier, with the red hair and bow in hand. Rolf and the red head were talking in hush voices that Colette and Lloyd couldn't hear what it was they were talking about.

But suddenly the red head stepped back and draw his bow in front of him while Rolf's eyes began to fill with tears.

Out of instinct, Lloyd charged at the man and swiped at him before he could attack Rolf. But even though Lloyd caught him by surprise the man was able to dodge it. Colette rushed in front of Rolf with her chakrams in hand.

In an attempt to land a hit, Lloyd brought the sword in his right hand upward. The archer jumped back in time but not before the tip of Lloyd's sword tore the man's shirt. The short cape he was wearing fell from his shoulders when he landed a few feet from the swordsmen.

All four of them stared at each, but the longer Lloyd looked at the annoyed look the archer gave him the more he looked familiar. Then the memory from Gallia when two of the mercenaries left came to mind. "Wait, aren't you…"

"Shinon?" Colette finished off of Lloyd.

The man raised an eyebrow at the pair; but after a good look at Colette he said plainly, "You're that priestess."

"Thank goodness you're all right, I wondered what happened to you," Colette said.

Lloyd had lowered his swords and added, "Yeah, how did you end up all the way over here?"

Shinon had a dark look when he said, "You two aren't that bright." He then pulled an arrow out of his quiver and loaded his bow. The arrow was pulled back and pointed right at Lloyd's throat.

A soft cry escaped Lloyd's mouth at the realization that Shinon wasn't on their side, he was their enemy. Though he never saw the archer fight he heard a great deal about him; like how every shot was always deadly. He wasn't going to take his chances against the archer.

Rolf moved around Colette, water welling around his eyes. "B-but, Shinon!" He wailed.

The older archer shifted his gaze toward Rolf. "What the hell did I just say, Rolf? Things like this happen, so man up and stop that crying!"

"So you're really going to fight all your friends!" Lloyd shouted at Shinon angrily, giving him a death look.

This just caused Shinon to tighten his grip on his bow. _Is he shaking? _Lloyd wondered as he watched him. _I guess deep down he would rather not fight Rolf and the others._

Out of fear that the archer was going to shoot Lloyd, Colette threw one of her Chakrams as hard as she could. It curved and hit Shinon's hand causing his bow to fly out of his hands. It slid across the cobbled floor about a length away from Shinon. Lloyd took his chance and swung his sword upward. This time he caught the archer in the shoulder. It wasn't deep but it was still a hit.

Lloyd would have gone for another hit but more Daein soldiers were coming and a few of them were heading for Rolf and Colette. **(Because the enemy units always go for the cheap shots!)**

Charging for a swordsman that was about attack Rolf, mimicking his sword rain art, Lloyd stabbed the man in the chest as many times as he could. The swordsman fell down instantly with blood squirting out of his chest. Colette threw her ring at an approaching knight but it did nothing but bounce off his armor.

Rolf had gained some of his composer back and fired an arrow at the knight Colette had attack. The arrow pierced below the knight's shoulder plate. But the knight just broke the arrow off and continued his advance toward them, lance at the ready.

The knight turned his attention to Lloyd, who had just killed another soldier. Another swordsman raised his sword at Lloyd, but Lloyd blocked it with one sword and cut the enemy's chest with the other. The swordsman doubled over in pain.

"Look out!" Colette cried out.

But Lloyd didn't turn around in time. A sharp pain entered Lloyd's side. He looked down to see a lance sticking out above his hip.

The lance was pulled out and Lloyd fell to his knees. He squeezed at his side to stop the bleeding. His red shirt became darker where the wound was at as blood dripped to the floor. The knight flicked the lance in order to rid it of Lloyd's blood, and then slammed it down on the swordsmen.

He raised his sword in time to block. But the force was so strong that Lloyd had to let go of his side to bring his other sword up to help block. He gritted his teeth as he fought to keep the lance from stabbing his head.

From behind the knight he saw Colette run toward him. "Colette! Get out of here, now!" He shouted at her.

She stopped in her tacks then shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you!"

Suddenly, her wings appeared and veil of light surround her. All the soldiers gasped and backed away nervously at the angle.

"No, Colette!" _She's going to use her angle power! _Lloyd thought with horror. He was afraid of what would happen if she used her power here in a world with no mana.

"**Angle Feathers!" **She shouted. The sparkling feathers then turned into disks and shot toward the knight. Some of them ricocheted off the armored body, hitting other soldiers, while others stayed true on their course by cutting through the openings in the armor.

The grip on the lance lessened as the knight slumped to the ground; who would probably bleed to death in a few minutes. Colette herself fell to the ground.

Lloyd staggered to his feet and got to Colette as fast as his body would let him go. Rolf was already by her side, not sure if he should lift her up or leave her be.

His swords fell with a clang as he fell with on his knees next to Colette. He gently shook her shoulder gently. "Hey, Colette. Are you alright?"

Colette raised her head and gave him her "everything is alright" smile. Lloyd relaxed a little as he and Rolf helped her up.

"I guess I over did it a little, huh Lloyd?" She said weakly.

Lloyd didn't say anything, he tighten his grip on Colette as he looked at all the Daein soldiers that were surrounding them. He was just about to tell Rolf to get Colette somewhere safe while he distracted the enemy when a brown horse galloped by.

Oscar was at the reins running over a few soldiers while his brother, Boyd, who was riding on the back, jumped off and began coping at a few others with his ax.

When most of the enemy was out of range Boyd ran over to Rolf and hit him on top the head. "What were you thinking going off on your own, grass head!" He yelled at his half-brother.

"You don't have to hit me, you meat head!" Rolf said angrily while he rubbed his head.

They were about to go another round of hateful banter until their older brother, Oscar, trotted up and said in a calm manner "You both realize you're in the middle of a battlefield, right?"

Boyd and Rolf looked away from each other. But then they all noticed Shinon standing a few feet away, bow at the ready. He wasn't really aiming it at anyone.

"You damn bastard, first you leave the company and now you're fighting us. Just how low are you willing to go?" Boyd said out loud.

"Gotta do what ya gatta do in order to survive, right?" The archer said.

Shinon pulled the sting back but then back stepped out of the way of a sword coming at him. They saw a familiar blue haired swordsman enter the fight.

Raine followed behind the swordsmen but ran over to Lloyd and began to heal him. Lloyd could tell that using so many artes in a short time was taking a toll on her.

Shinon had dropped his arrow so he pulled another out another. He twirled it in his hand before aiming it at his new opponent. He said with a smile, "I always knew it would come to this, Ike."

Ike just looked at him as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Watch yourself!" Shinon yelled as he shot his bow.

With a quick sidestep the arrow only grazed Ike's shoulder. Without hesitation Ike dashed toward Shinon and stabbed him in the gut. Blood ran down Shinon's mouth.

When Ike pulled his sword out Shinon staggered backward hunched over clutching his gut. "Well…What are you doing? ...Finish it," he breathed.

"Don't move too much or you'll bleed to death," Ike surprised everybody by saying. He turned toward Raine and asked, "Do you think you can heal him?"

Raine looked at him in disbelief but walked over and began to cast First Aid.

"Heh, idiot," Shinon mumbled.

"I couldn't agree more," Raine agreed.

/~/~/

A short time later Soren announced that most of the Daeins have been dealt with and all that was left was to find the commanding officer. But there was still one thing that was still on Lloyd's mind; _where_ the hell was Zelos? No one had seen him since the battle started.

So a small group was searching the halls for the two people they need to find while the rest took care of the remaining troops.

After a few minutes of searching, Presea came running back to Lloyd and Ike informing them that she had found Zelos. Following her down one of the halls they were able to spot the Chosen on the upper level.

But it wasn't just Zelos they saw, there was another man and they were in a deadly fight. Both were bloodied and bruised. "I believe that may be Kayachey who is in charge of this fort," Soren told everyone.

Lloyd and Sheena ran up the stair followed by Ike and the others. As soon as they reached the top they saw that the man Kayachey had just cast a tornado spell that sent Zelos crashing into the wall. His head dropped down and he wasn't moving at all.

Kayachey stared at Zelos, and then he gave a triumphant laugh. "You were a worthy adversary, but in the end it was I who came out on top!"

"You bastard!" Lloyd yelled as he drew one of his swords.

Sheena's eyes wouldn't leave Zelos' limp body. "No," she said softly.

The bloody man turned to the others. "So…do you wish to join your friend?"

"You're out numbered and injured; you won't stand a chance against us. Surrender now!" Ike suggested.

"What makes you think I'm out numbered?" Kayachey snapped and archers surrounded them; arrows pointed at the group.

"You just had to say that didn't you," Soren sighed.

"Getting a little ahead of yourself aren't you when our fight isn't even over," a voice breathed darkly.

Everyone was startled until a bright light glowed under Zelos' body. Kayachey turned around wide eyed in disbelief.

Zelos lifted his arm up and shouted, **"Grave!"** Four earth spikes busted through the stone floor and pierced Kayachey right in the heart. Blood spewed out of his mouth.

The Chosen stood up and cheered, "Oh yeah, now you know not to mess with the Great Zelos Wilder!"

The spikes collapsed and Kayachey fell to the floor dead. The other Daein soldiers all laid their weapons slowly to the ground and raised their arms up.

Ike looked at Zelos who apparently looked uninjured said, "You were only playing dead."

Then Sheena ran up and began violent outbreak. "_YOU STUPID CHOSEN! _Do have any idea what you just put us through!" She screamed at him as she kicked him repeatedly.

Zelos was curled up in a ball on the ground. "I really am hurt you, crazy banshee!" He protested.

Lloyd and the others just stared blankly at them and Presea said plainly, "I have no sympathy for him."

Rhys just smiled nervously and said, "Shouldn't we at least heal him first?"

/~/~/

"Close the floodgates, now!" Ike yelled over the rushing water.

Presea and Lloyd were the closes to the controls, so dashed toward them and began to turn the wheel. Lloyd had to use all of his might to in order to close the gates. But with a few grunts the floodgates finally closed.

When that was done Lloyd took a good look around at the battle field. Talrega was what the village was called that became a war zone. The fighting was over now and the few wyvern riders left were retreating. Their side didn't suffer hardly any damage but the villagers sure did. Homes were burning, crops had been destroyed because of the flood waters, and there were probably a few who were injured.

All this destruction just so the Daeins could slow them down! They wouldn't have had to come through here if Daein hadn't ordered the wyvern riders to open the floodgates which stopped their progress.

Both sides wanted the fight over quickly, in fact the wyvern lord, Shiharam, wanted it to end more than anyone. He was also Jill's father. Lloyd saw her knelt next to his corps, tears staining her cheeks.

Lloyd then heard a soft cry down the hill. He jogged to the edge to see one of the cottages had collapsed, that was where the cry was coming from!

Without even thinking he slid down the hill and carefully walked toward the ruble to look. He saw the silhouette of a small girl curled up whimpering softly, it was a miracle she hadn't been crushed.

"Don't worry Sara, your big brother's going to get ya otta there!" Lloyd heard around the corner. He glanced around to see a boy who couldn't be much older than Genis attempting to lift the fallen house off of his sister. The boy had dirt and scratches all over him.

Suddenly, the side of the house began to buckle and so the boy began to act as a pillar to keep the roof from falling on his sister.

Lloyd ran over and braced his back against the house and pushed with is knees. "I'll hold it while you get your sister." Lloyd said to him with the house literally on his shoulders.

The boy just gave him a dirty look. "I don't need any stinking help from a Crimean!"

"This isn't the time for stubbornness! Do you want to save your sister, or not?" Lloyd shouted at him.

A look a shock covered the boy's face, but he nodded and began to crawl under the wooden beams. Lloyd's body began to feel the strain of the roof and soon he could feel his Exsphere's power. He really hoped none of the laguz came close enough to go berserk.

Soon a small blonde head pop out from under the wood. The small girl crawled out first followed by the boy. When they were safely away Lloyd jumped forward letting the remains of the house to crumble. "Are you two all right?" He breathed.

The two siblings stared at their destroyed home, but both managed to say yes.

"Where are your parents?" Lloyd asked them.

"Our mother passed away a few years ago and our father left to join the army, we haven't heard from him in over a year," the boy answered.

That just hit home for Lloyd. These children had already suffered and now they had nothing because of this stupid fight. He clenched his fist in frustration. For the time Lloyd truly understood what Kratos said after they destroyed the crazy tree. "_That's why war is so tragic. To win means to make victims of your opponents and give birth to hatred." _

_Tragic doesn't begin to cover it, _he thought. But then he turned to the children and gave a reassuring smile. "I think I heard that your name was Sara, right?" He asked the girl who nodded at the question. "So what would your name be?" He asked the boy next.

He hesitated a little before saying, "I'm Kyros…sir."

"Well then, you two follow me," Lloyd said when he came up with an idea. He began to walk away when he looked over his shoulder. The two kids looked at one another then Kyros grasped Sara's hand and followed after the swordsmen.

Lloyd led them to the caravan and saw the bird laguz, Zelos, Raine and Genis. Zelos was injured from the last fight and Genis and Raine still hadn't recovered enough mana so both sat out this battle.

As Lloyd dug through the supplies, the children behind moved closer together as they eyed Reyson and the other birds. Lloyd turned around and knelt in front of them. He hand Kyros a cloth that covered several strips of dried meat. "This isn't much," Lloyd said, "but hopefully it'll help."

Kyros accepted the food but continued to eye the laguz nervously. "T-thank you…sir," he said without looking at him and his sister gave a tiny nod.

"You can call me Lloyd."

"Thank you…Lloyd," Kyros repeated sounding a little more friendlier.

"Can't you say thanks too little one?" Zelos asked Sara.

Sara just hid behind her brother making Kyros grow angry. "She couldn't say "thank you" even if she wanted to!" He yelled at Zelos.

Zelos backed away and didn't say any more on the matter.

"Lloyd, why are you helping these beorc children? They are the enemy," Reyson asked.

"The enemy is with the Daein soldiers, not these villagers. We'll look more like monsters if we just come and destroy," Lloyd explained as calm as he could.

"I couldn't agree more." Everyone turned to see Ike walking slowly to them. "It's going to take a few hours for the water to recede so we can continue. So during that time I want everyone to help out these villagers in any way we can," he ordered as he grabbed a box of their rations.

/~/~/

After a few more days of marching they finally made it to the capital. It appeared that the Daeins had evacuated all the women and children because there was no sign of life anywhere. There weren't any soldiers in sight either, so they must be waiting for them.

Lloyd knew that the Daein people will look at them as the bad guys; hopefully people will understand that they had no intention of hurting the civilians. Maybe the help they did in Talrega will spread. In fact Lloyd had spent all that time there trying to find a new home for Kyros and Sara. An elderly woman finally agreed to look after them. Lloyd was able to leave with one less thing his mind.

But of course everyone had only one thing on his mind, to defeat the Mad-King Ashnard. And he was right up ahead. As the Daein castle drew closer; anticipation, anxiety, and even a little fear filled everyone's hearts. The final battle was near.

Although there were some strange things going on; like Ike being really distressed when Mist misplaced her mother's medallion, but then again it was his mother's memento so Lloyd guessed it was understandable, and then for some reason Nasir has disappeared. It was also strange that Nasir stayed with them for this long.

To add to the weirdness the gate was wide open! Unmanned. If this didn't scream trap, Lloyd didn't know what did. But Ike though that they would just go ahead and spring the trap. Once the army crossed through the opened gate everyone expected it to close, but it didn't.

Ike told them to stay on guard; the enemy had to be around. But as they were wondering around the keep they still hadn't seen any sign of the Daeins.

"I hear something," Colette stopped to say.

"Is it the Daein soldiers?" Ike asked.

Colette closed her eyes to concentrate. "I'm not sure. But there is defiantly fight up ahead."

"Either way, we proceed with caution," said Soren.

They moved slowly down the hallway and soon everyone could hear the sound of blades hitting and a few war cries.

Following the noise out into the courtyard they found what was happening. One man was taking on a whole battalion. The one man was wielding a double-edged weapon, wearing red and black armor and had long blue hair tied back.

Blood covered the man, but Lloyd highly doubted that any of the blood was the man's knowing who it was. The double-edge weapon spun around, slicing anything in its way. With a swift motion of the weapon a wall of lightning was ran forward, taking out half of the soldiers.

Lloyd and Genis ran up behind him and Lloyd shouted, "Yuan!"

Yuan tuned turned around after he sliced a swordsmen's throat. He looked generally surprised to see Lloyd. "Certainly didn't expect to see you all here."

"We'll help you with these guys," Genis said as he pulled his kendama out.

"Don't bother!" Yuan shouted at them making them stop in their tracks. "You need to go on and help Kratos." Yuan took out two more in one fell swoop.

"What! Kratos is here too? What's happening to him?" Lloyd yelled back.

"Nothing hopefully, but some weirdo took off with an arm load of Exsheres! Hurry and catch up to them!"

"Alright," Lloyd said as he and Genis ran back to the others. _Dad is here!_ Lloyd had to find him and get those Exsheres back, who know what the Daein want with them.

"You sure he'll be okay by himself?" Ike asked as he watched Yuan's blade hit a soldier in the gut.

"Don't worry, if anyone can handle them it's him," Lloyd smirked.

"Not to mention a four thousand year old angel," Colette told him.

"And a half-elf," Genis added.

The mercenaries couldn't really process all this but they marched back in to the keep in order to go deeper in order to find not only Asnard but Kratos too.

Lloyd looked back to make sure everyone was still together.

Everyone was here except for one.

A certain red headed Chosen.

/~/~/

Zelos was walking down dark hall. _Of course it's dark where I'm going, _he thought bitterly. The only way he was able to see was from torch light coming from far away rooms.

There was a traitor among them and Zelos hopped he was able to stop him before it could be the death of them. It took a traitor to know a traitor.

Finally he saw the traitor, in brown clothes and light blue hair. He saw Zelos first. "Shouldn't you be with the army?"

"Probably, but I had a question I wanted to ask you Nasir," Zelos said to him with an evil look. "Do you get your kicks stealing mementos from girls?"

"So you saw me steal the medallion from Mist did you?"

"Not really, see it was dark so I couldn't see too well. But then you disappeared so I just put two and two together. You've also been leaking our movements to the Daein too, haven't you?"

Nasir kept a calm face on as he said, "What makes you say I'm did that?"

The Chosen was getting a little frustrated with this guy, Nasir was just beating around the bush. "Because that commander at that Tor Garen palace said something about an informant. Tell me I'm wrong," Zelos mocked.

Then Nasir did something Zelos wasn't expecting, laughing. And it wasn't an evil laugh in was more of an insane one. "You are right. But why are you here, planning on fighting me? I'll warn you, you won't be as lucky with me as you were with Kayachey."

Zelos scoffed. Then drew his short sword and said, "I'll take my chances."

"Very well. Don't say I didn't warn you." Suddenly, a force pushed Zelos against the wall as Nasir was engulfed in a bright red light, he was transforming into his beast. Zelos stood his ground, ready for whatever he was transforming into.

But he certainly wasn't ready for a humongous white dragon! Nasir extended white wing as he let out a might roar.

_Damn it! That smartass Soren said each laguz was weak against some kind of spell. What was the dragon's! _Zelos rubbed his head in frustration when he couldn't remember. _Oh well not like I could use a lot of spells. _Zelos charged right for Nasir.

Nasir attempted to dodge, but not enough. Zelos was headed straight for the tail.

"**Fierce Demon Fang!**" Zelos shouted as he landed on top of it.

But his attacked was deflected. It did nothing.

Nasir cocked his giant dragon head as he looked down at the swordsmen. All Zelos did was give a nerves smile as he braced himself for what was coming next.

With the flick of his tail Zelos was sent crashing into the wall. As he slumped to the ground he began to cough up blood. His ribs were broken again as his wounds from his fight with Kayachey reopened**. **He could blood running down his face.

He looked up at Nasir in front of him. Nasir took in a deep breath about to breathe fire.

_Oh crap, this is gona hurt! _Zelos closed his eyes as he prepared for the worse.

* * *

Zelos: _WHAT THE HELL_! First I get my ass kicked by Regal in the animated series, then almost lose to that magic guy, and now I'm about to be killed by a dragon! What the hell!

Genis: Seriously, I only got to use on spell in this whole chapter and that was it. This whole lacking mana thing sucks!

Lloyd: I call the sequel in our world!

Ike: But if we do that then not all of us in in this world could come.

Blue: Jeez, I had to put some kind of handicap on you all. And besides, it's not my fault that the physics engines in Fire Emblem and Symphonia are so deferent.


	11. Anniversary Special

Tales of the Fire Emblem Special

One Year Anniversary

**Lloyd**: Hey everybody! As some of you may have noticed today marks the one year anniversary of Tales of the Fire Emblem!

**Ike**: So Queen Blue and all of us would like to thank everyone for sticking with us over the year! This wouldn't have been possible without you the readers.

**Colette**: It's just been so fun meeting everyone here.

**Genis**: Yeah it has been interesting. Except for the lack of mana and getting captured.

In the corner Zelos grumbles angrily.

**Sheena**: Come on Zelos, surly you're still not mad over what happened in the last chapter?

**Zelos**: No, I'm over that. It's just that…_WHY THE HELL IS NASIR HERE?_

**Nasir**, still transformed into a dragon: (Just wait until tell next chapter.)

**Titania**: Blue wanted everyone here so they can see the preview for what's coming next.

**Lloyd**: Where is Blue anyway?

**Raine**: Running late, as usual.

**Soren**: I don't care I'm leaving.

**Mist**: Oh Soren, aren't you the least bit curious about what's going to happen next?

**Soren**: Nope, I'm set. Besides I have battle strategies to plan.

*Door slams*

**Ike**: At least he showed up and stayed for more than two minutes.

**Elincia**: Well uh…things have certainly become interesting in the story.

**Boyd**: Yeah, all these awesome battle scenes. I can't wait for what's about to happen next!

**Presea**: I'll do my best.

**Reyson**: As will I.

**Yuan**: All I have to say is that it's about time I got in on the action.

**Kratos**: I still haven't joined the group.

**Zelos**: Awww, am I detecting a little bit of jealousy.

**Kratos**: Who's about to be killed by a dragon?

**Zelos**: That's harsh.

**Regal**: Here she comes.

**Blue**, running in panting: There...*breaths* finally done. *Gasps* It took me hours to do this, but I got it.

**Shinon**: More like you did it in the last thirty minutes.

**Blue**: _Shut it!_

**Ike**: So Blue, what have you got in store for the last half of this story.

**Blue**: Well, we're more than half-way done with this, but we sure have hit the climax. So to give everyone a preview on what's in store I pulled some lines from the next few chapters I have in mind. Also, I have to give my thanks to Forcystus5; I totally forgot that it's been a year. Time sure dose fly.

**Genis**: So you really did do this last minute.

**Blue**:…So without further delay here's the preview.

/~/~/

"_What are we going to if that guy figures out about Exspheres?"_

"_Nasir…Why, how could you do this?"_

"_First we fight a guy who split our world and now we have to prevent some crazy dark god from awakening? What the crap did we get ourselves into?" _

_The stones beneath his feet suddenly gave way and Genis' head fell beneath the bridge. _

"_No, what have those bastards done with my sister!_

_He felt like he was going to be sick, this is what Exshperes have done to the people of this world!_

_Lloyd went for the attack but as soon as the lance connected to his sword his whole body was engulfed in flames._

"_Kratos, look out!"_

/~/~/

**Blue**: Well there ya have it.

**Lloyd**: I'm getting excited just thinking about…although I'm not looking forward to being engulfed by fire.

**Blue**: Don't worry; you at least are fire free next chapter.

**Zelos**: That's not funny!

**Ike**: So it looks like this special is over. What do we do now?

**Blue**: I think there is only one thing we can do now.

**All**: Happy Holidays Everyone!


	12. Chapter 9: Distrust

I'm so sorry about the wait! It took me longer than I thought it would to finish it. Also if you haven't noticed I'm a _slow_ writer. So I hope it was worth the wait! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9: Distrust

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Lloyd shouted in frustration.

They had just reached the throne room only to be told that the king wasn't here. In fact he was still in Crimea! So now they had to fight this woman named Ena and a whole lot of Daein soldiers. Lloyd couldn't believe his luck.

"Yes, it as I said," Ena said. "...I too, share your desire to see this conflict end. So rather than see you travel to Crimea to fight Ashnard, I felt it would be much faster for me to defeat you and your army here. Don't you agree?"

"That's one way to look at it. The problem is that I'll never let you do as you please with Crimea!" Ike yelled at her.

Ena's eyes turned cold stone as she looked at them all. "We cannot have it both ways. We both want what is in our own interest, and that is why we have conflict. If neither one of us will yield, our conflict will continue until only the stronger of us remains. I have my own reasons for fighting... And I _will_ see you fall." A bright pink light surrounded Ena. She was shifting into a beast…a dragon to be exact!

Everyone stared in horror as the dragon roared, a few crys escaped them and even some of the Daein soldiers looked afraid.

"A Goldoan dragon?" Titania cried in dismay.

"But…I though the dragon laguz were neutral in all the fighting," Colette said.

"They're supposed to," Titania said under her breath.

The pink dragon then breathed fire right where Ike and Lloyd stood. Both dived out of the way in time as the floor burned slightly.

Ike readied his sword. "Looks like we're going to have to fight her." He looked back behind, "Alright Soren, what would be the best way to-" But he realized that Soren wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere in the room! "Now where did _he_ wondered off to?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons, but right now we have to focus on our fight," Lloyd told him.

Reluctantly, Ike nodded and then both swordsmen charged right for the boss.

/~/~/

_Oh crap, this is gona hurt! _Zelos closed his eyes as he prepared for the worse.

Through the darkness of his eyelids there was an ear shattering sound, his whole body vibrated. It was as if the room had collapsed. Knowing he was still alive, Zelos slowly opened his eyes, terrified as to what could have happened. Nasir was back to his humanoid form, his face only a few inches from the ground breathing hard. In the torch light Zelos was able to saw smoke was raising from the laguz's back.

Someone else had come for Nasir!

Somehow the Nasir tilted his head back to look at his attacker. "And here…I thought you were going to keep your noise out of my… business," Nasir breathed.

Coming down the same hallway Zelos had, he saw someone clad in dark robes with an opened book in hand. Zelos couldn't help but grin because it was the last person he expected to save him.

"Soren," Nasir said darkly.

Soren stepped into the torch light with the same expression he always had. "I kept quite because you appeared to be harmless. But that has obviously changed."

While Nasir was focused on Soren, Zelos took his chance and took a swipe at the laguz. But Nasir apparently had some strength left since got up in time. The young mage fired another loud lighting spell but Nasir was already running down the hall. **(I know the chances of Soren missing are slim to none)**

Zelos staggered to his feet and summoned enough mana for First Aid. He stopped all the bleeding but it hardly did a thing for his ribs. Soren was standing across form him, looking rather impatient as he waited for the swordsmen. That annoyed him to know end. "So, what caused you to come all the way here away from the others?" Zelos eyed him.

"Certainly not to save your ass. I simply don't want any surprises in this battle," Soren replied. Suddenly Zelos hunched over as blood poured out of his mouth. "Will you be able to go on?"

After he wiped his mouth he muttered, "Don't worry, I still need to get even with that dragon freak."

He took off down the hall with Soren close behind. Zelos felt as if Nasir had caught him on fire. But ignored all of his body's protest as he ran, he only thought about what Nasir was up to and that his friends were in danger!

Clutching his rib cage that was in siring pain he asked the mage who was now running slightly faster than he was, "So you knew all along that Nasir wasn't exactly main stream, huh?"

"I knew not what but I did know that something was wrong with him ever since we entered Daein." Soren replied.

"Why did you keep quite tell now?"

There was a brief pause but then Soren said, "He had something on me."

"What, that you not totally human?"

Without warning Soren stopped dead in his tracks. Zelos had past him a little before he himself stopped. He saw a bewildered look on Soren that didn't suit him at all. "How did you-"

Zelos just shrugged, "I guessed." Soren's head dropped down; either in embarrassment or shame, Zelos couldn't tell. The swordsmen sighed, "Look kid, I've seen enough people in my world who pretend to be something they aren't, including myself."

"One must hide when the world can't even stand their existence. You don't even know even know what that's like!" The mage's crimson eyes turned fierce.

"Don't I!" Zelos yelled, thinking about that snowy day years ago. Soren didn't falter, from the swordsmen's sudden anger. He then took a deep breath to calm himself. "Frankly I don't really care about your reasons, but if all of us are going to survive this shouldn't you tell your mercenary buddies what you really are so this doesn't happen again? I know it would have made things simpler if Raine and Genis had been up front with being half-elves."

Soren started walking as he said, "Genis told me the same thing and I still didn't take his advice. I guess now I better."

"That must mean that I give better advice than Genis!" Zelos said with a light hearty laugh.

Soren rolled his eyes. "And my original opinion of you returns."

"What would that be?" Zelos asked.

"You're just an idiot."

"Well, you're still just a smart-ass brat," Zelos said bitterly as they took off into a run again.

/~/~/

There was only one person in their way now, and that was Ena. Though they outnumbered her she seemed to have the advantage. None of their attacks seemed to have any affect except Genis' lightning spell, but one of the soldiers had knock him out before he could even cast it.

A Daein general who had a large mustache had surrendered along with several other soldiers. Titania and a few others held their weapons to them. Regardless the dragon still fought. Ike, Lloyd, Regal, and Oscar were the only ones left standing to fight Ena. The others were slumped against the wall in exhaustion or waiting to be healed. But even they were about to reach their limit.

"We could really use one of Soren's crazy ideas right about now," Oscar said.

"No kidding," Ike wheezed.

As soon as he said that another fireball came for them. Regal came out of the smoke running toward the wall; he jumped and kicked off the wall and slammed his leg on the dragon's back. Then Lloyd appeared by her side and used his Demon Fang. She recoiled and both of them were sent flying. **(To bad she isn't this strong when she joins your party, *sighs*)**

Lloyd kept rolling until he hit a pillar. It took all his remaining strength to lifted himself up. _What are we going to do, nothing is working._

Just then, a blur ran past him. It was Yuan.

He summersaulted into the air and embedded his double-edged blade into the stones right in front of the dragon laguz. Multiple bolts of lightning stuck the ground in front of the blade, most of them striking the laguz. Ena roared in pain and began to fall forward.

Yuan jumped back before she landed on top of him. He was breathing hard but still had his weapon at the ready. Nobody moved in fear that the large pink dragon would recover. Low snarls escaped her muzzle.

Soon she began to transform back into her humanoid form. The room was filled with breaths exhales of relief. Ena struggled to her feet but only succeeded to get to her knees.

Ike staggered toward her, his thigh slightly burned. "Surrender, there's no reason for you to die," he offered her.

She shook her head. "That I cannot do," she said as she continued to struggle to her feet. When she finally did she swayed slightly and had a look that still wanted to fight.

"Look you can hardly stand, give up while you can," Lloyd yelled to her over the distance. He couldn't understand why she would still fight, the king had abandoned his country and she still intended to fight in her condition.

Soon her face changed into desperation. "I... I must go to him..." She breathed as she suddenly made a break for the door.

It was so sudden that neither Ike or Yuan could grab her and no one else had the stenght to attempt to catch her. When Ena stepped over the threshold Nasir appeared and grabbed her.

"Good timing, Nasir! Don't let her go," Ike shouted at him as he ran toward the doors.

But there was something wrong with him. Lloyd saw that his eyes were dark and something else too…regret, maybe? "Get going," everyone heard him say to Ena as he pushed her away. She looked back at Nasir for a moment then took off running again.

"Nasir! What are you doing?" Titania yelled. She was so angry that her axe almost took half of the Daein general's mustache off.

He didn't respond; he just acted as sort of a barrier between Ena and them.

"Nasir, what in the world is wrong with you?" Ike shouted at him when he was in front of him.

"I'm sorry," was all he said before he punched Ike right in the face. The swordsmen fell backwards with a thud. Nasir took a few steps back before he took off running.

He didn't get far before an arm came and slammed into his face. This time Nasir crumbled to the floor with blood spewing from his nose.

Zelos came around the corner, out of breath but with a look of triumphant. "Payback's a bitch," he said before falling to his knees coughing so hard that he could possibly cough up his intestines.

Soren came into view next and looked down at Nasi. He actually looked a little disappointed that he didn't hit him.

Two soldiers rushed over, grabbed Nasir, and lifted him up roughly as Ike scrambled to his feet. Mist was already healing Zelos by the time Lloyd and the others came to him. "Honestly, what was going through your head when you went off on your own?" Regal asked with a sigh, although he didn't look much better than Zelos.

"Just promise us you won't go solo again," Lloyd asked Zelos.

"Don't worry…I've learned my lesson," he murmured.

Ike was standing in front of Nasir, both angry and hurt, fist clenched. "Nasir…Why…how could you do this?" He shouted at him. No one blammed his anger, they all felt the same way. Lloyd still couldn't believe that Nasir had betrayed them.

The laguz refused to meet his gaze, making Ike even more furious. So without admitting to anything, Nasir was dragged out of the throne room, but not before saying two words, "Palmeni Temple."

Even though the sting of betrayal was still fresh, Lloyd had only one thing left on his mind. "Alright. Now we need to catch up with Kratos!"

"No need, he's already long gone from here," Yuan told him.

All eyes were on Yuan and Lloyd. "What do you mean?"

"The guy who had the Exsheres flew off on some wyvern; I saw him pursue after them."

"How could a beroc possibly follow after a _wyvern_?" Ike asked.

Yuan just had a blank look and without any warning he brought out his blue angel wings. "Oh…right," Ike said sounding a little embarrassed.

"But… What are we going to if that guy figures out about Exspheres?" Lloyd argued, "We have to get them back before something like that can happen!"

"Lloyd, I know you're worried about Kratos, but you're going to have to trust him for right now," Yuan reassured him.

"Yuan's right Lloyd," Colette chimed in. "After all, it was your father who found out the way for you to wield the Eternal Sword."

Lloyd reluctantly nodded, he didn't want to but for right now he would have to believe in his father.

/~/~/

They've spent the last few days in Daein Castle, to regroup, heal up, and decide what they would do next. Lloyd, Genis, and a few others were standing guard along the wall. But really, standing watch was the last thing they were doing. They were really having a kendama tournament.

It all started when Genis began playing with his kendama. First Boyd wanted to try it and pretty soon it turned into a competition to see who can last the longest before they screwed up. Genis sat down against the stone having an annoyed look on as everyone passed his weapon around. Rolf was by far the best one; lasted for at least two minutes, until the kendama flow out of his hands and hit Shinon in the head, which he didn't appreciate at all.

Lloyd found it rather entertaining. But the festivities end by the sound of a distant horn. Everybody rushed to the window. Marching through the city was a wave of bodies bearing flags with strange emblems. "That isn't more Daein Soldiers, is it?" Genis asked out loud.

"No," Gatrie pointed out. "Those flags are from Begnion. They must be our reinforcements!"

"Come on Genis, let's go tell Ike and the others about this," Lloyd called as he ran down the stairs with his young friend right behind.

/~/~/

"So, what's your point?" Ike asked.

Soren's eye began to twitch as he fought to control his temper.

Begnion had indeed sent more troops to help them reclaim Crimea, but of course Soren had something to say about it. "The point _is,_ if these reinforcements defeat King Ashnard the victory will belong to Begnion, not Crimea. And we'll be forgotten regardless of all we've done."

"Surely the Apostle wouldn't try and do such a thing," Elincia stated.

"Maybe not, but that senate seemed a bit sketchy," Sheena added.

"Not to mention that one of them was that sick bastard Oliver," Yuan grumbled angrily from the corner.

"Either way it would stink if all our efforts have been wasted," Genis commented which made everyone grumble at the thought.

Ike rubbed his head and said, "Then what do we need to do about them then."

"As I always say, if they're useful make use of them," Zelos suggested.

Palmeni Temple

**(I wasn't going to add this part but you'll see why I did. Hehe.)**

"Why did we bring the professor along again?" Lloyd asked as he watched Raine going into ruin mode once again. Palmeni Temple actually reminded Lloyd and the others of Martel's Temple. It was considerably bigger than Martel's Temple but other than that they seemed to be the same.

Taking Soren and Zelos' advice Ike stationed the new troops in the rear. Having someone else watching their back while they proceeded was a huge load off. This way it's the mercenaries that defeat the Daeins.

But for right now they were doing a little bit of a side quest. Everyone was wondering why Nasir would mention some temple. Of course they suspected a trap, that's why Ike brought a small fraction of their army.

For some reason though it never clicked in Lloyd's head, they were going to an old temple…with the ruin maniac.

Although the mercenaries' faces were priceless, they had never been around her during her episodes. It was a mix of shock and horror.

"She's not always like this…is she?" Mist asked sounding a little frightened.

"Only when she's around ruins," Genis sighed.

Raine was quickly scanning every inch of the outer temple, from the pillar to the stairs, and when her inspection was over she cast her eyes over toward Ike with a demanding look. "Hurry, we must proceed inside so I can study this structure more!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Ike stuttered nervously.

/~/~/

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous!" Raine cried as soon as they crossed the threshold which caused the priest who was waiting for them to jump. She immediately ran for the wall and began her study.

The room they had entered was very large and bright, Lloyd was really expecting it to be dark and damp. Up ahead was a large staircase that leads to more rooms.

"Why are you so interested in these ruins, they're not from your world?" Boyd asked.

Raine spun around furiously, "You idiot, knowledge is a valuable resource. One can never hold too much. The more you know about a world the better you chance are for surviving it," then just turned back around.

"With Profesor Sage you don't question her research," Presea told them.

"Besides, she would be the professor if she wasn't a maniac," Colette smiled.

Suddenly, Raine took off up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.

"Raine! Don't go off on your own!" Genis yelled as he ran after her.

Everyone watched as the half-elf disappeared after her.

"Shouldn't we-" Titania stated to say but Lloyd went ahead to answer her.

"They'll be fine, let's start our search."

"Yeah," Ike nodded then looked over to the priest, who was still standing in the same place trembling. "Um…" Ike started that caused the priest to jump again. "We'd like to take a look around, you wouldn't mind showing us everything, do you?" He asked.

The priest nodded his head quickly, "Very well... Th-th-this...is... Er... A v-very large room...Um..."

_Poor guy, professor's ruin mood must have scared him to death, _Lloyd thought.

"Mind telling us something we don't know?" Zelos mocked. Sheena smacked him on the head, not hard since he was still recovering from his fight with Nasir.

"Hey are you all right? Why are you shaking like that?" Ike asked as the priest shook more violently, he looked like he was about to pass out.

Then he actually fell to his knees with tears flooding his eyes. "Oh, Goddess... Please...forgive me..." He whimpered.

A strange laugh entered to large room as a rough looking individual appeared at the top of the stairs with a large axe propped over his shoulder.

"We should have known it was a trap," Titania said.

"Well, at least we were prepared for such," Ike told her.

No one drew their weapons yet, but was ready to fight.

The ruffian at the top of the stairs looked down on them and said, "I don't know how you got wind of us, but showing up in such a small group means you're outta luck! None of ya are gettin' outta here alive!"

Everyone stared blanckly at the man. "We actually didn't know you were here. What are you, some big shot or something?" Lloyd questioned.

"Of course," the guy on the stairs said as if it was obvious. Lloyd looked at Ike and the others; they looked as confused as he did. "I'm the infamous bandit Schaeffer! Me and my men burn villages and steal what we please. We have caused so much destruction that people cower in fear at the sight of us!"

"Never heard of you," Soren said plainly.

Schaeffer began to have a temper tantrum as stomped on the floor. "What do you mean you "never heard of me"? You're supposed to be begging for mercy! Today you die by our hands!"

"Look we just fought the Daein army, I think we can handle a few outcasts like yourself," Ike said in frustration.

"That's enough talk, let's just kick his ass already," Zelos declared as he pulled his sword out.

Sheena grabbed Zelos by the ear. "Oh no, your sitting this out," she ordered. He didn't dare object so he sheathed his sword as he cursed under his breath.

A twisted smile formed on Schaeffer face. "Cocky, ain't ya? But who said this was gonna be a fair fight?"

As soon as he said that more bandits appeared from behind pillars and rooms with. Most of them had a priest at knife point. All of them looked more terrified than the priest who was on the ground beside them, if that was even possible.

"If you want to beat us you'll just haff ta cut through these priests!" Schaeffer laughted.

"You coward," Presea hissed.

"You really think we'll let you hurt those innocent people!" Lloyd yelled angrily. He wasn't about to take an innocent life.

"Ha ha ha! You take what ya can get. As long as I have these here priest there's no way you'll-" Suddenly a staff came from behind Schaeffer's head and he began tumbling down the stairs, his axe flying in the opposite direction. When he stopped rolling he looked up and pointed his finger at the person who hit him, who was non-other than Raine Sage. "That wasn't fair! Attacking someone from behind is a cheap hot!"

"Weren't you just holding defenseless people hostage?" Regal inquired.

Schaeffer marched up the steps toward Raine. He stopped when he was two steps away from her, which he was now at eye level with the half-elf. "Look woman," he said irritably, "We're about to fight so buzz off!"

This time Raine just kicked him back down the stairs. "You fool! You think I'm just going to let you fight and destroy the architecture of this place! Do you have any idea what information this building could contain?" Raine yelled lectured.

But she was too distracted in her lectured to notice that one of the other bandits was coming to attack her. Genis emerged from the hall and shouted, "**Aqua Edge!**" Water came out of his kendama and hit the bandit in the chest causing his to fall down the stairs next to Schaeffer.

Raine turned to her brother looking even more ticked. "Genis! What did I just say?"

"But, but I just…oh never mind," Genis sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He knew better then to argue with Raine, especially when she was in ruin mode.

Turning her attention back to the bandits she began her lectured again, but more calmly. "Look if you want to fight by my guest, but take it _outside_."

Schaeffer got to his feet and eyed her, "You can't order us around."

"TAKE IT OUTSIDE NOW!" Raine roared with fire in her eyes.

"Yes ma'am!" All the bandits cried, terrified of the ruin maniac.

/~/~/

The bandits ran out of there, releasing their hold on the priest, and once the last one was out, Ike and the rest closed the doors and locked it. The priests were so thankful for saving them that they gave Raine a sacred staff (because she was the one that cashed the bandits off single handedly.)

So with that out of their way, they began their search. Although none of them knew what it was they were really looking for. In fact there might be not be anything to find. It was a matter if Nasir wanted to tell them something or if he was just messing with them.

It was silent as they examined each room, but the quiet world was shattered by someone yelling. "No!" A male voice screamed, "What did those bastards do to my sister!"

Lloyd quickly realized that it was Prince Reyson. He, along with several others, ran to the room the white prince's voice came from. They found him in windowless room that just gave off a depressing vibe. He was shaking as he pounded the wall. Colette and Mist were with him and both looked worried.

"Please, Reyson you have to calm down!" Colette pleaded.

"Reyson? What is it?" Ike asked as soon as he saw Reyson's state.

Reyson didn't respond nor look at any of them.

Raine appeared next but her eyes drifted to the strange characters that were all over the walls, it was like nothing like Lloyd had ever seen. "Fascinating, what could all this writing mean?" Ruin mode Raine asked out loud

"It's an ancient language. All chants and spells in magic scrolls are written thusly," Soren explained to her.

Her eyes light up upon hearing that. "Can you read it then, Soren?" She asked him eagerly.

The seldom look Soren always held turned timid, "Some…but not all," he relaxed a bit when Raine didn't get mad and continued. "Spells are simple, whereas this is a complex narrative. It's the Serenes' language so Prince Reyson must have read it and it must not have been good.

"Reyson, can you tell us what you read?" Lloyd asked him in order to make since of what could have upset the prince.

The heron's hand fell to his side, already turning purple from punching the wall. "Lillia…" he said through clenched teeth. "My older sister. The writing on the walls is hers."

"You have an older sister, too?" Elincia inquired from behind Ike.

"What happened to her?" Ike asked as everyone's attention was on him.

The laguz straightened up as he began to tell the story. "She was kidnapped twenty years ago, on the night of the Serenes Massacre. I... I thought that Lillia had been murdered along with my other brothers and sisters. I believed that until today..." He began to tremble again but stopped himself to continue. "According to the wall some human thrusted a clan treasure at her and demanded that she use her magic to revive the thing sealed inside it. He exhorted her again and again, but to no avail. Lillia refused his request every time...because she did not possess that power.

"Shortly after she was brought here, Lillia fell ill and collapsed. I'm not surprised...it was a terrible time... She was imprisoned in that tiny room with no view of earth or sky...But then a young beorc began coming to the room to care for Lillia. She had bluish hair and blue eyes... And her heart was unusually pure for a beorc. In time, Lillia and she came to be friends, and shared a mutual trust."

A small cry escaped Mist's mouth as Ike's eyes widened, both seeming to know something the rest didn't.

Reyson didn't notice their expressions as he went on with the story. "So then she decided to entrust her hopes to the woman…Who was to take the treasure and the song...and flee this temple."

Mist ran over to Ike and pulled at his arm. He said "Was there anything else written about this beorc woman? A name, perhaps..."

He looked at them unsure, "Translated into our language…it was probably Elena."

"I knew it! Mother! It was our mother!" Mist cried as tears rolled down her cheeks, but they were tears of joy.

Everyone was quite, not sure how to respond to that statement.

"Our mother's name was Elena. Like me, her hair was blue...as were her eyes." Ike explained to them but then turned his attention back to the heron, "Reyson, the object you refer to as your clan treasure was an aged, bronze medallion, wasn't it?"

"How... How did you know that?" Reyson asked in disbelief.

"The medallion became my mother's keepsake. The song, too... My parents both gave their lives to protect it."

"Ike! You and Mist are Elena's children? Then Lehran's Medallion is here?"

Mist fidgeted in here place looking the same as she did when she realized that that her mother's keepsake disappeared. "The medallion was stolen. Probably by Daein," Ike explained for her.

"This all seems conjunction. It can't all be coincidence?" Raine stated.

"But...it all makes sense. It all comes together... King Ashnard must have been the one that kidnapped Lillia since he sent that knight to kill my father, that would be the final piece of the puzzle," Ike summed up.

Lloyd let out a cry of frustration, "Ugh, this is all so confusing."

"Up to this point, we've all been fighting for the liberation of Crimea. Even if we add stopping the dark god from being released and punishing Commander Greil's killer... Our enemy remains unchanged. King Daein and his henchman are the ones we must defeat," Soren said.

"But why would the King of Daein want to resurrect the dark god for?" Colette asked what was on everyone's mind.

"Man, first we fight a guy who split our world in two and now we have to prevent some crazy dark god from awakening? What the crap did we get ourselves into?" Zelos proclaimed.

_What indeed? _Lloyd thought.

* * *

Blue: Well, are you happy?

Zelos: I still got my ass kicked. But I am happy _I_ didn't catch on fire, unlike someone.

Both look at Lloyd.

Lloyd: W-what are you two looking at me like that for!

Genis: Don't worry Lloyd, I'll put you out!

Ike: Aren't you supposed to fall off the bridge next chapter?

Genis: I'm really not looking forward to next chapter.


	13. Chapter 10: Allies

I AM SO SORRY! And to make it worse this is a crappy chapter too! I blame Skyrim! I wont lie I've been playing that game all the time instead of writing. I's too awsome of a game for it's own good!  
Anyway, another thing I would like to say is a few of you have asked me to kill a certian boss. I know I told you I thing but I changed my mind on that. He will die in this story and I think you'll be pleased with the way he dies.  
Also I have two questions I would like to ask (one I could look up but to lazy to)  
1. What happens to the Medallion at the end of the game? Does Rayson take or Mist keep it?  
2. What happens if you breed a laguz and a branned togeter? Is it a branded and does the laguz parent lose it's power?  
These are questions for my next storry I plan on writing, if anyone cares to give me an answer that would be great.  
Thank you and bear with me this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 10: Allies

Riven Bridge

"I am _not_ crossing that," Genis stated as everyone looked down at the bridge from the hill. Lloyd and the others thought the same thing,Genis was the only one to voice it.

It turns out that in order for the army to return to Crimea they were going to have to cross a huge bridge called Riven Bridge. Being a few hours away the group surveyed the bridge on top of a hill, it was clear that the Daein were waiting for them; wyverns circled around and giant crossbows were being set up.

But this wasn't the reason they were uneasy about crossing, even though they were miles away they could clearly see holes and large cracks in. "It looks like if we so much as take a step on it's going to crumble beneath us," Lloyd swallowed hard.

"Man," Zelos mumbled, "just how far back are we?"

"I understand you reluctance to go but we don't have any other choice," Ike told them even though he looked just as nervous as they did.

"Look at it this way, once over all of you will be back in Crimea," a male voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

Everyone looked behind them to see a cat laguz with blue hair. "Ranulf!" Ike cried in disbelief as the laguz held a mischievous grin. "What, how did you end up here?"

With the grin still on Ranulf said, "I heard you were close to the boarder so I rushed over here to tell ya some good news." Then he said with a chuckled, "Who would have thought all of us would still be alive to see this day!"

"So what is this good news that you couldn't wait to tell us?" Ike asked.

A grin was still on the laguz's face. "It may have taken a long time but Gallia has finally decided to join the fight against Daein. As we speak they should be combining forces with the remaining Crimean army."

"You're kidding!"

"This is wonderful!" Elincia cried. "How many Crimeans survive?"

"Wait," Genis interrupted, "How did you even get over here? The bridge is crawling with Daein soldiers."

"I went through the mountains," the laguz replied as if it were obvious, which it probably was.

"And we can't go through the mountains too _because…_" Lloyd said as he waited for someone to finish the sentence.

Of course Soren was the one to answer him; frustration clear on his face. "_Because_," he started, "it would take far too long. Do you have any idea how much time we would lose if we were to take that path? It would be simpler to just cut through the Daein army."

"My, you just a peppy as ever," Ranulf smirked, which just cause Soren to roll his eyes as he left to do final preparations for their fight. "But he does have a point, it took me two days to cross over and that was me in my beast form! Could you imagine taking a whole army of beorcs? That would take forever!" He said dramatically.

"The Daein army must have crossed this bridge when they invaded Crimea, I'm sure it's built sturdy," Regal tried to reassure them.

Both Lloyd and Genis sighed in defeat.

/~/~/

_It looks worse close up,_ Lloyd thought when he reached the first opponent. The condition of the bridge left his mind as he charged straight the axe wielder, when in a fight one needed to focus on only one thing, the enemy. The less he worried about the better.

The red swordsmen raised both of his swords upward, cutting deep into the Daein's shoulders. Then in a quick movement he brought both back down slicing into the man's chest. He crumbled instantly to the ground. _One down and...a lot more to go, _he told himself as he looked up the bridge in dismay.

But they pushed on, regardless of the all the resistance. When the Daein tried to fire their ballista at them, Raine would simply cast force field over them all. Even the soldiers weren't that much trouble. They all seemed second rate, it was by far the easiest fight they partaken in. **(I had just played this level and I had just zipped right through it, it would have been much easier if there weren't any damn potholes or whatever they're called.)**

Just when their fears over the bridge were beginning to vanished, a large bolder was flung into the air heading straight for Lloyd and Genis. After he pushed his friend out of the way, Lloyd dived and rolled on the stones. When the dust settled Lloyd looked over to make sure Genis was okay. He was but as soon he stood up the stones beneath his feet suddenly gave way and Genis' head fell beneath the bridge.

"GENIS!" Lloyd shouted as he ran to where the half-elf fell.

He wasn't the only one; several others came to that spot to. But when the swordsmen looked down hole all he saw was the distant river, no dot that could be his friend. "Where is he?" Colette cried as she searched frantically.

"Improbable for him to have already reached the bottom in this time span," Presea stated calmly.

_If that's true then where is he? _Lloyd worried. He looked harder to make sure he wasn't hanging on by some chance, but they could neither see nor hear the half-elf.

Suddenly a large shadow loomed over them and they looked up to see a giant black wyvern glaring down at them. Its talons clung to the edge of the bridge, cutting through it like bread. That just made Lloyd's stomach lurched as the thought how fragile this bridge was, and here he was halfway across!

The rider on the wyvern wore dark armor that matched the beast's scales and an eye patch. He looked vaguely familiar. Everyone readied their weapons but the rider made no move for his axe. Instead he yawned and said, "I think this belong to you all." He then helped Genis off the wyvern, who had a disoriented look as he staggered to them.

Raine rushed to her brother and just when she reached him, Jill's wyvern landed not far from them. "Captain Haar!" Jill exclaimed as she ran to them.

"So you're still alive, eh? Good to see," Haar said as he looked over her.

"That's what I was going to say! You survived!" It was the first time that Lloyd had seen her this happy, but her face turned serious right away. "But what are you doing."

He didn't seem to know how to say what he wanted to "... Believe it or not, I'm a vindictive man. Revenge for the general is something I can't let go."

_Uh-oh, _Lloyd thought. At first it seemed he was on their side but now it was starting to look like he was going to fight them. Now he knew where he had seen this rider, in Talrega! So here was a question, who was he after; just Ike, who was further up the bridge with the rest of the army, or all of them?

Seeing their looks Haar explained, "Don't get the wrong idea. You're not the enemy I'm seeking. The ones responsible for General Shiharam's death is Daein. I pretended to return to the fold so I could get close to General Petrine... I'm just waiting for my chance. But I think they may be on to me."

"Then just join with us. We're going after the same thing," Lloyd offered.

Haar just shook his head. "I'm just sick of choosing sides. I won't join you all but neither will fight you." And with that the rider mounted his wyvern and flew off.

_At least that's one wyvern rider we don't have to worry about. _Lloyd exhaled before he and the others continued up the bridge.

/~/~/

As soon as Lloyd and Genis stepped off the bridge onto solid ground they both sighed with relief. No longer would they have to fear falling through the bridge, again. Even though there was more Daein soldiers on the land and more still pouring out the large stone fort that loomed over them. They would have rather been there then back on the bridge.

"Over there," Lloyd pointed up in the sky toward an oncoming wyvern.

Genis raised his kendama and cast a weak lightning spell that struck the beast's wing, causing it and its rider to fall into the cavern below.

Soren and Rhys had been teaching Genis and Raine this world's spells and healing arts. So now they were able to cast more regardless of their mana. They tried to teach Zelos but he gave up on it saying he would rather stick with his sword. Genis wasn't happy with the spells he learned either, saying that they felt unnatural but since he relied solely on magic he would just have to deal with it.

Zelos and Colette joined them shortly; the rest of their group was still on the bridge fighting. The four pushed onward toward Ike, Soren, and Mist.

"We have to find the commanding officer before reinforcements come!" Ike yelled over the chaos.

Lloyd quickly scanned the battle but found no one that looked to be in charge. "Well, if we haven't fought him now he must be in there," he pointed to the fort.

"Then lets head in," Ike told them as he started to make his way toward the entrance.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Colette asked.

"Smaller numbers would be more efficient in this situation," Soren explained.

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that," Zelos sighed.

As the small group dashed for fort, Lloyd and Zelos combined their Demon Fang art on the door. Many of the soldiers were caught off guard when the door flew inward, crushing many under the heavy weight. They were even more startled when swords and chakrams sliced through their numbers.

Once they took care of all the guards Ike rushed up the stairs. Everyone hurried to keep up with him; Ike had been this way ever since they left the temple. Finding out the truth behind this war was hard on all of them but it seemed to have affected Ike the most, the reason for his father's death heavy on his heart.

After killing more soldiers then they could count they finally reached a large room that held about five soldiers and a woman in black armor wielding a strange red lance.

That woman, Ike, and Colette pointed at one another. "IT'S YOU!" They all exclaimed.

"You... You're the knight that my father battled," Ike realized.

The female knight began growling angrily at them. "If I'd know you were going to grow to be such a thorn in our side... I would have reduced you to ashes when I had the chance!"

"Where did you all meet this creepy lady?" Zelos asked.

"She's General Petrine, we ran into her in Gallia before we meet you," Soren explained.

Lloyd readied both of his blades and said, "Well it seems we've found the commanding officer, so let's end this!"

He charged for Petrine regardless of Ike's protest. As Lloyd brought down his swords, Petrine, with a cruel grin, blocked it with her lance. But as soon as his sword connected to the lance his whole body was engulfed in flames! Lloyd was sent rolling from the blast, still smoldering.

"Hang on Lloyd!" Genis shouted. He raised his kendama, "**Spread!**" He cast.

Water erupted from underneath Lloyd, he swallowed a mouthful of the magical water and it felt like he was drowning. But coolness was welcoming to the burning pain he was in. Finally the spell ended and Lloyd began coughing, gasping for breath. He gave a thumbs up to his friend signaling he was alright. Mist quickly hurried over to heal his burns.

Turning their attention back to the fight, Soren began explaining a new strategy to everyone. "It'll be best if long range attackers go against her. So Colette, Genis, and I will fight her." He looked at Ike as he told him what to do, "You and that idiot keep the rest of the soldiers off of us."

"I have a name, brat," Zelos glared at Soren.

He just shrugged the comment off and said calmly, "Yes but the fact that you responded to that only proves my point.

"Who's watching whose back?" Zelos asked nastily before going after the nearest swordsmen.

Lloyd could only watch as one by one Ike and Zelos took out the Daein soldiers. And Petrine was at a disadvantage since it was three on one. She couldn't get close enough to attack them she was constantly dodging their attacks.

Finally she gain some ground and was about to attack both Soren and Colette. But just before she could, the space between the ground and her lance wielding hand froze in a solid block of ice. Everyone glanced over to where Genis was standing, kendama raised and sweat protruding from his forehead; clearly nervous that he would be too late. The female general tried to break free but to no avail. She gritted her teeth probably thought that would help melt the ice. But it slowly was due to her flame lance.

She turned her attention back to the two in front of her, but her eyes lingered on the mark on Soren's head. "You..." She gasped, "That mark on your brow... That's not a charm of the dead, is it? You're no Spirit Charmer!"

Zelos had just stabbed the last Daein when everyone stared at Petrine. Both Ike and Mist stared at Soren in puzzlement. Everyone else knew what that woman meant; Lloyd began to worry how this would end.

Then Petrine began to laugh wickedly. "You may be able to fool others with that, but not me. It's because we're the same, see?" Her lance was nearly free.

"...The same?" Soren repeated. The grip on his tome tightened. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm nothing like you. You kill for sport, and hide your fear behind a wall of bravado." His wind spell charging blew around him with his eyes full of furry. "Now let me show you true fear!"

The wind he had been holding back raged toward Petrine sending her against the wall so hard that most of it collapsed. She was slumped down, cuts all over her, breathing hard.

They were about to finish her off when a deep growling sound stopped them. A loud scraping sound emitted from outside and soon a black wyvern's head poked in through the opening. Another big section crumbled under the beast weight. It eyed Petrine in blood lust, causing her to cower. The rider on the mount flicked the reins and in an instant the wyvern clamped down on her and flung her out. Her piercing scream echoed through the fort as she plunged into the riven.

"Thank you for your help Haar!" Colette waved at the rider.

Haar simply raised his hand lazily before his mount pushed off and they went soaring into the sky.

Outside the fighting began to slowly stop as the Daein realize their general was gone. But inside was an unsettling silence. "What exactly did that woman mean when she said you two were the same?" Ike asked the young tactician.

Soren didn't say anything for the longest time. He glanced over at Genis, who gave him a reassuring smile, and even over at Zelos. He took a deep breath before looking square at Ike and Mist. "There are some people in this world whom have the blood of both the laguz and beorc. They were given the name branded and…it would appear that she was one of them."

"So," Mist started sounding afraid that she had misinterpret, "since she said you were the same…does that mean that your one of those "branded" too?"

He simply nodded, "I discovered what I was shortly before this all started."

There was another pause and Soren looked anywhere but at them. But finally Ike asked, "What's your point?"

Soren's head shot up and looked at his friend. "What's the point?" Soren repeated, looking more furious than Lloyd ever seen him. His crimson eyes looked even redder. "Don't you find me repugnant? I work beside you, eat beside you. I'm nothing! I don't belong anywhere! Doesn't that sicken you?"

Ike just looked at him as if he had said something daft. "Soren is still Soren," he told him. "Just because of whom your parents were doesn't change the fact that you're our staff officer and our friend."

Sorens eyes were wide as if wondering if he heard Ike wrong. But then Mist start giggling. "That's right," she said in-between chuckles. "Soren will always be the grumpy Soren we know."

That caused a few snickers from the rest of them as Soren narrows his eyes, the moment so gone. **(I think this is how it should have been when it was known Soren was branded.)**

Through the new window Lloyd spotted a small army marching from Crimea. At first he thought they were Daein but then he noticed they bared a completely different banner then what the Daein carried. "I don't believe," Ike said with relief. "It's Crimea!"

/~/~/

Marhaut Range

The lieutenant began walking around the camp, trying to ignore the bitter chatter of his men. He didn't have to listen to them to know that this was a suicide mission. On the west side of this mountain the Gallia sub-humans had joined forces with the remaining Crimean soldiers while on the east side the Liberation Army, he knew, was close by. And here they were in the middle of the two, with no sign of reinforcement in sight.

_What the hell is the king thinking! _He thought, he didn't dare voice it; he could be executed on spot for that.

"Lieutenant Blair," a sheepish voice said behind him. He turned around to see a young soldier, newly recruited, and in his opinion far too young to be here.

"What can I help you with?" Blair asked him.

The kid squirmed in place as he thought how to phrase what he wanted to say. Blair getting a little aggravated at this. Normally he gave any of his men his undivided but now they were press time, so much had to be prepared if they were going to survive this battle. The kid must have obviously seen the irritation on Blair's face because he began stuttering, "S-sorry, lieutenant, this…this isn't really that important… but…the other men…they've been saying we're not going to last to see tomorrow."

Blair nodded knowing what he was saying. "We have a plan that will delay the army so we can get as many of us out of here alive. Instead of worrying about what the others say, focus on surviving."

He didn't look too confident but left with his head a little higher. So Blair quickly rushed to the edge of the peak to meet with Captain Gromell about the trap they sat up.

Gromell, along with several others, were inspecting the large boulders they push in hopes of crushing the enemy. The captain noticed him as soon as he came within range. "Status, lieutenant," he asked Blair without looking at him.

"Most of the traps are set and ready, archers in position, and the men are ready to withdraw at a moment's notice," Blair told him.

"Withdraw?" Gromell repeated as he slightly turned to face him. "I do not recall saying anything about us abandoning the battle. We are going to defeat the Liberation Army and then move on and wip out those sub-humans."

_What!_ They would be lucky enough just to beat the one army but after that they would have no hope in defeating the remaining one. "But sir-"

"You forget your place _lieutenant_. Now go and tell all the men to prepare for battle,"Gromell ordered turning back to the others leaving no room for discussion.

With no other choice Blair left to do as he was told. _Everyone in this damn army is mad!_

About an hour later the horns blared signaling the approaching army. Of course at the time Blair was already at the edge once again watching the army through the scope. No doubt they already figured out their trap, there was no time to cleverly hide the rocks they would drop on them.

"What are they doing?" Gromell asked the lieutenant.

"They're…" Blair took another look to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, "…advancing. They're coming strength up."

The captain began laughing a real throaty laugh. "What fools! Surely they don't think they can defeat us by charging right at us! This will be over before we know it!" Some of the other men began laughing at that as well.

But not Blair. Something wasn't right. He knew they knew about the traps they had seat up for them, so why were they coming head on? Blair took another look at the army below.

"Get ready men!" Gromell shouted. "Prepare the boulders!"

Two soldiers at each rock stood at the ready to push down on the stick wedged underneath it. Blair raised his hand as he waited for the Liberation army to get close enough to cause the most damage._ Almost…almost…there!_ "Release boulder three!" Blair yelled.

The two soldiers there wheezed as the pushed down on the lever to send the rock rolling down the cliff. Blair watched through the scope as it tumbled towered the army. But then he spotted a man with long blue hair running towards it as if eager to meet death. The lieutenant heard snickers around him but he ignored it as he continued to watch the man. Then suddenly the man jumped and _kicked _the boulder which was heading straight for them. "T-take cover!" Blair yelled diving to the ground.

There was a large crashing sound and Blair looked over to see that the boulder had crushed one or two men. "Hurry up and release another one!" Gromell barked.

"Wait don't-!" Blair tried to warn but was too late; two more soldiers released another boulder.

He didn't bother to watch this one and within minutes it was flung back up.

The battle just kept on getting worse, not even the archers could pierce through their lines because the enemy used some weird magic. They were all going to die. And for what? For a crazy king who probably didn't care what happened to the Daein people, he certainly didn't care about losing Daein.

_I have no intention of dying for a mad man!_ So he along with several others made a run for it. They may be known for deserting but he doubted any one back home would blame any of them.

/~/~/

Lloyd sat on a small hill looking at the distant outline of Crimea's capitol, the end of their journey in sight. It had almost been a year since they arrived here in this world; a year since they he merged their two worlds. It tore him up inside not knowing what happened. Did it work? Was everyone still alive? Were they ever going to get home?

He could hear the grass crunch as someone approached him. Lloyd turned in the direction to see a silver haired kid walking toward him. "I was wondering where you went after we meet up with the rest of the army," Genis said.

"Well since everyone else has been busy talking with the Crimean retainers I thought I would just make myself scarce." Lloyd told him.

Genis sat down next to him and gazed where Lloyd had been staring out. "Hard to believe that we've been here for an entire year and we've been all around this world."

"I know," Lloyd nodded at his friend. "This war is almost over."

"As long as that crazy king stays were he's supposed to this time."

"No kidding."

They sat in silence for the longest time until Genis asked him, "What are we going to do after this is over?"

"I've been thinking about that for a while now. I'd like to say we could go home but we haven't any clue how to go about doing that," Lloyd said while rubbing his brow. "The Professor and Yuan have been taking and they think with the Eternal Sword we might be able us it to return to our world. After all it is the sword that makes to impossible possible."

"Yeah but the Eternal Sword is with Kratos, there's no telling where he is. We were lucky enough just to find everyone else. Oh sorry. You're probably worried about him."

"I am. But…I just have to trust in him like Yuan said."

* * *

Hopefully that wasn't to painfull. Anyway I promise that the next two chapters will be better for sure. Also we only have 4 more chapters to go until the end!


	14. Chapter 11: The Black Knight

Sorry for the wait, I had to do a book critique. But now with that and scholarships out of the way I can relax a little bit till I go to college.

Anyway, if you all don't mind would you settle a bet between me and my friend, Nicki/DeathDealer.

So here's what happens. We're playing Tales of Symphonia and Nicki/DeathDealer figures out that Kratos is Lloyd's daddy. So I go and explain that he was a 4000 year old angel and how he met Anna and the things that happen. When I finished Nicki/DeathDealer made the comment that Kratos was like Edward from _Twilight! _Her reason is because both Kratos and Edward constantly try to protect the people they love from their past and the problems that follow. Because of who they are they don't seem like they will have a true chance of being happy, even though both couples seem to be worthy of eternal bliss. I said how dare you say something so horrible about my favorite character. Kratos could kill Edward with a flick of his wrist.

So here's what needs to be settled; do you agree with my twi-friend or do you think as I do.

P.S. Please don't judge her too bad, she is one of the few people who understand the insanity that is my mind.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 11: The Black Knight

The sky began to shine a brilliant orange as the sun rose over Castle Nados. Lloyd and the others looked from the top of the hill at the place they would soon capture.

"So we're supposed to be the first wave and keep the army occupied till our main forces over runs them, right?" Lloyd asked Titania one last time to be sure he understood the plan.

The red headed knight nodded. At about noon Ike will lead the main army to attack the already worn down Daein army that Lloyd and everybody else had been fighting. Once they arrive the first wave was to fall back. "Alright Sheena, you're up first," Titania motioned her forward.

Sheena nodded as she walked in front of them. Holding one of her spell cards in front of her a summoning circle formed beneath her. "I call upon The Hammer of Godly Lightning! I summon thee, come, Volt!" Out of nowhere a large purple sphere of pure lightning appeared before them. Many of the soldiers who hadn't seen Sheena summon Undine all that time before were startled by seeing the spirit of lighting.

Volt, himself, began casting his personal spell. When it was finished large purple lightning struck many of the Daein soldiers. The air was filled with both screams of agony and horror. Lloyd could barely stand to watch._ It's either them or use. _ With half of the enemy killed, Volt disappeared and Sheena collapsed from exhaustion. She was done for this fight.

Two people came over and helped to move Sheena back to the camp. With her gone Titania led the charge to attack.

The soldiers were still dazed from Volt that they weren't prepared from the next attack. The Liberation Army mauled through the Daein with such ease it felt like they were fighting a completely different enemy.

It wasn't until they crossed over the gate that they began to run into resistance. But they pushed through. It wouldn't be too long before the main army arrived so they had to cause as much damage as possible.

Soon the hall they had been traveling branched off into a smaller hall. Titania then ordered Lloyd's group to clear out that way while the rest of the troops continued on. The hall they took was well lit and narrow and they could faintly hear the battle cries of the main army but they couldn't see or hear anything down the hall they were going. After a while a large arched opening came into view so the group began to slither across the stone wall. If there were soldiers up ahead they would catch them by surprised.

Only there weren't as many soldiers as they had anticipated. Only a lone knight in pitch black armor and a crimson cape stood over a girl with pick hair who was on her knees. There was something familiar about her, Lloyd just couldn't place his finger on where.

_It's that dragon girl from the capital! _Lloyd soon realized. Then the knight raised a huge double-edge sword into an arc, He was going to kill her! But why?

Without another thought on the matter, both Lloyd and Zelos drew their blades and shouted, "**Demon Fang!**" Their art combined into one powerful blast. But the attack was too late.

The knight's blade had already cut down the laguz by the time the art hit the knight's hand. The sword flew out of his hand and went spiraling through the air, cutting through any air resistance in its way, and embedded itself in the stone floor.

The armored head turned toward them to see everyone emerging from the hall and moved into a large v formation. Only Lloyd and Zelos had their weapons drawn, everyone else was at the ready.

"So," a deep voice echoed from deep in the armored body, "you fools decide to come at me eight against one, hmm." The knight didn't sound worried as he causally walked over to retrieve his sword, his armor making loud clanking noises with each step.

"You could always surrender," Lloyd suggested even though he knew there was no chance of that happening. These Daeins seemed to have a "no surrender" policy. Regardless, Lloyd felt pretty confident they could take this knight out if he decides to fight them.

Suddenly everyone heard a rasping breathing. The dragon girl was still alive! Breathing was laborious for her as every exhale caused more blood to pour out of her mouth. All of them rushed over to her and Raine began to use her healing arts. Her wounds were cut so deep that it was remarkable that she was still alive. The blade had cut into her shoulder all the way down to her hip. Lloyd almost couldn't see the slash with all the blood that covered her upper torso.

The black knight drew his sword from the stone floor and began to laugh slightly. Everyone, save Raine who focused on healing the girl, looked up to the knight. "That one tried to kill you back at the capital. Why would you help her?"

_How does he know we were there?_ Lloyd wondered. _Maybe he's some officer. _He concluded.

"For whatever reason you were trying to kill her she will probably know something useful," Yuan started, "she'll be in our debt if we save her."

"Yeah and I also want to know why that Nasir guy would save her for," Zelos added.

Nothing was said; the knight seemed to be analyzing what they had said. "You all aren't as big of fools as I had thought," he concluded. "But it matters not. None shall survive much longer for none of you will be able to lay a scratch on me. So why don't you surrender and I'll give all of you a swift death."

"We'll see about that," Presea said before she charged forward. The knight made on move of dodging the ax girl's attack he just stood there.

_What's that guy doing? _Lloyd wondered. Presea had the strength slice right though his armor like it was bread. Did he underestimate her, thinking she was just some little girl pretending to be fierce? For whatever reason, Lloyd doubted that was the knight's reason. Something else was going on.

His suspicion was confirmed when her ax dinged off the black knight's shoulder plate. Everyone but their opponent was stunned at this new revelation. _How did her attack have no effect on that knight?_ All of them wondered.

With a flick of his wrist, the black knight brought his great sword down to the ground. The sword didn't hit Presea but the force of the impact sent her rolling back toward them.

"Presea!" Genis yelled when stopped rolling.

Everyone was about to rush to her aid when slowly began to rise. She struggled to all fours but other than that she appeared fine. "I am fine," she told them all.

Lloyd looked back at the knight who stood motionless. He kept wondering how Presea's attack did nothing, she should have been able to cut the black knights arm clear off. A ping of fear entered Lloyd, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. They've come way too far to be defeated by a single person.

"Now do you see how your efforts are useless against me," the knight advised them in the same monotone voice. "I wear the blessed armor of the goddess, no attacks can penetrate it. I am one of Daein's Four Riders, the Black Knight."

"The Black Knight," Lloyd repeated. The name sounded familiar but he had heard so many names that they were beginning to blend together. "Well, whatever you're called, we'll just keep hacking at you until we win," Lloyd smirked reading both of his swords.

"We've fought against worst odds," Genis agreed taking his kendama out of his pocket.

Colette brought her wings out as she got into battle position. "Goodness and love will always win," she said cheerfully. Lloyd could remember how he hated that dwarven vow but he pry that was true.

They waited for knight to reply, possibly make fun of Colette's line, but he was silent. He appeared to be staring at Colette, or better yet her wings. "So there are more people like him," the Black Knight said more to himself than to them.

_Him_? Lloyd lowered him weapons and stared at the knight. His heart began to pound rapidly in his chest as he wondered for a brief moment who the knight was talking about. "Are…are you saying that you've seen someone else with wings like Colette's?" Lloyd asked waiting with anticipation for his answer.

"Now that I have a look at you I now see a resemblance between you and that man. He was certainly a remarkable swordsman. I wonder how he would have fared if I had not worn my blessed armor," the Black Knight said.

"Are you saying that you fought with Kratos!" Lloyd cried out. That would mean that he was on his trail but another question popped in his head that made him stiffen up. "Is he all right? He's not…"

An amused chuckled escaped the man in the armor. "I see, so this Kratos person must be you brother or something. So what if I did defeat him in battle, what then?"

The grip tightens on his sword as Lloyd clenched his teeth in frustration. "Where is he?" Lloyd demanded. He wanted to know. He needed to know where Kratos was. If he was okay.

"Lloyd, you don't seriously think Kratos could've been defeated by the like of him?" Yuan questioned him.

"Of course not!" Lloyd barked back. "But he's seen him so he'll know where he went!"

"If you want to know so much then defeat if you can and I'll consider telling you what I know of your brother," the knight proposed swinging his sword in front of him.

"Fine," Lloyd said before he charged right for him, ignoring all of his friends protest. "**Fierce,**" his Exsphere began to glow brightly as he felt his mother's power welling up inside him, "**DEMON FANG!**" He slammed both blades into the ground and a giant, white shock wave took form and engulfed the Black Knight. Just before the attack swallowed him up the knight did raise his sword in attempt to block it.

There were skid marks on the stones from where the Black Knight had tried to stay his ground, but the force had pushed him all the way to the wall. There the knight leaned against the wall panting with the right side of his armor severely dented. Everyone gasped while the knight let out a surprised noise as he realized the state of his armor. He clutched his side; apparently there was some internal damage as well.

Lloyd couldn't believe it. He was more than thrilled about the damage of his attack but he hadn't expected it. "Lloyd, that's it!" Genis suddenly cried out. "His blessing must not protect him from our magic and arts!"

_Of course_! Deferent worlds, different rules! _If only we use as many of our arts as we wanted. But this battle is far from over! I may not have the Eternal Sword but my pact with Origin should work against him._

"I think I heard something up here!" They suddenly heard from down the hall. All of them turned toward the source and saw a group of enemy soldiers appear and they immediately noticed the injured Black Knight. "No! We have to assist the Black Knight!" **(Really! The Black Knight doesn't need any help! And if he **_**IS**_** losing what's a bunch of common soldiers gonna do? It's the frickin' Black Knight!)**

Yuan wasted no time as he charged at the two in front and cut them down in one swift slice with his weapon. "Regal, Presea, and I will handle these idiots! The rest of you take out that knight!" They all nodded at the new plan as they took their new position. Regal and Presea joined Yuan in taking out the Daein with the rest of them formed a circle around the Black Knight once he stepped forward. Raine had put the dragon girl's life out of danger but she needed to get some were safe, but until then she joined in on the fight against the knight.

The twin swordsmen attacked first, leaping into the air and slamming his swords down on the knight to see if his regular melee attacks could harm him. The knight blocked his attack with his sword. He was clearly worried that his attacks would cause more harm to him so that was a pulse.

Zelos came next from behind and swung his blade into an uppercut, trying to hook the blade into the armored body. "**Hell Pyro!**" But he wasn't able to so when he twisted his body and shot a fireball at him it narrowly misses the knight; it merely scorched his helmet and caught his cape on fire.

But the knight didn't seem worried about it. In one swift motion he pushed Lloyd away from him and ripped the cape from his neck. He then swung his sword toward Zelos. It didn't hit him but the force of the impact sent him tumbling, not as bad as it did Presea.

Genis and Raine stood together and began casting a spell together. By the time the Black Knight realized what they were doing it was too late. "**Prism Star!**" The half-elven siblings cast together. Multiple balls of light began pounding into the Black Knight's armored body. By the time it was over the knight fell to his knees as rivets of crimson blood began pouring out of the cresses of his armor. They were overwhelming him.

"Have you had enough?" Lloyd demanded.

And then the Black Knight began to chuckle! "Perhaps I have underestimated you all." Then his voice turned somber. "But I have a few tricks of my own."

He stood up as graceful as a man in heavy armor could and swung his sword in a high arc. Then with such force he smashed it into the ground creating a much larger blast wave then Lloyd's initial attack. And it was heading right for him.

Colette rushed over to his side as the blast came closer. Both of them held the weapons in front of them.

"**Guardian!"**

"**Damage Guard!"**

Green spheres surrounded them just in time. But the blast pushed them back as Lloyd's had done the Black Knight; right to the large window.

/~/~/

"What's the situation here Titania?" Commander Ike asked his deputy out in the court yard.

The redheaded knight smiled as she gave her report, "We've nearly rounded up all the enemies' troops. It seems like we didn't look like we need the rest of the army to help."

"That's good," Ike relaxed a bit. But there was something that had been bugging him the entire time this battle raged on.

_It's just nerves_, he told himself. With the end of the war in sight everyone was on edge.

Ike scoped the room. Many faces were unfamiliar to him. But he tried to look past them to find the one he did know. He found it odd though that he didn't spot a single person from Lloyd's group. "Titania, Where's Lloyd and the others?"

"I sent them to sweep out a corridor and I haven't seen them since. I do hope they are all right."

As soon as she said that they heard breaking. Everyone in the area looked up at the source to see glass falling and smoke coming out of a tower about two stories above them. Fall through the smoke Ike spotted Lloyd and Colette.

Colette, with her wings already out, grabbed Lloyd by the waist and decreased the rate they were falling. She couldn't hold her own weight plus Lloyd's but managed to lessen their fall. They landed some ways from them and Ike and everyone else nearby rushed over to them.

"What the blazes happened up there?" Ike asked them as soon as he saw they were uninjured for the most part.

"Ask him," Lloyd pointed up at the window they fell from.

Ike followed his finger and his eyes gazed upon the man he had been search for. The man who had killed his father.

The Black Knight looked down on them as if they were ants. Then took a step forward and fell. He landed with both feet and the ground giving way to the knight's weight.

"It's you!" Ike shouted bring out Ragnell. He had waited for this day for the longest time. He wanted to make this knight feel as much pain as his father did in his final moments.

"You know that knight?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.

"This is the one who killed my father."

"This knight is the same one that killed Greil?" Colette asked.

Ike nodded at her. "I can finally face him and avenge my father!" He charged forward and brought his sword down hard on the Black Knight's sword.

"So now my opponent it you boy," the knight inquired. They separated and the knight added, "I wonder how much stronger you've gotten since that day in the forest?"

"Why don't I answer that for you right now!" Ike roared. He tightened his grip on the hilt of Ragnell as he went for his second attack.

/~/~/

Lloyd did nothing but stand there and watched as Ike and the Black Knight dueled to the death. He wanted to help him; he wanted to get answers out of him about Kratos. But he knew that Ike had more of a right to fight him. The rest of the army keep their distance from the fight, either because the sight of Ike's determination to fight him alone or just because it was the Black Knight.

The Black Knight was severely wounded from his fright with the world travelers, so Ike had the upper hand in this fight. But the knight had more than enough energy to counter Ike's attack. There was one moment when Ike staggered and the knight could have sliced Ike's left arm off had he not backed away in time and managed to escape with a deep cut in the shoulder. Some of the others wanted to assist him at that moment but Lloyd and Titania stopped them telling them it was Ike's fight.

It wasn't long until Genis and the others reached to courtyard, Regal was carrying the still unconscious dragon girl. They wanted to continue fighting the Black Knight but stopped when they say the battle going on. Then they explained to the rest of the army about the laguz that was injured. So Titania ordered some men to take her back to camp and to keep an eye on her.

They continued to watch as Ike and the Black Knight exchanged blows. But then it appeared over when the knight's next attack knocked Ike's sword into the air. Ike back stepped and ran straight for a pillar and then jumped off it and gained some air as he caught his blade. Then with gravity's help, Ike put all his strength and weight into slicing the armor of his enemy.

As soon as Ike landed he quickly backed away to inspect his attack, breathing hard to catch his breath. He had diagonally sliced thought the knight's breastplate with even more blood running out of the tear. Lloyd doubted that he had much blood left to lose.

"You've grown stronger," The Black Knight said as he fell to his knees. "... I...commend you..."

Without warning the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. An earthquake?

One of their soldiers ran up to them and said, "One of the Daeins triggered a trap before he died. This place is going to collapse!"

_What!_ Lloyd was beginning to notice the stones freeing themselves from one another. The surrounding towers were going to fall of them. The Daeins were prepared to stop them from reaching the capital at all cost. "We have to get out of here, now!" Lloyd yells at the top of his lungs.

Nobody had to be told twice as they rushed for all possible exits, some making their own; all but Ike who stood over the Black Knight who was too wounded to move.

"Ike! We have to go!" Lloyd shouted over the chaos. But he still made no move to leave.

Colette run up to him and tugged at his arm. "Ike it's too dangerous to stay here any longer," she begged. He nodded and followed after her and Lloyd.

Just before Lloyd exited the courtyard he saw the tower they had fallen from earlier drop were the Black Knight was.

/~/~/

**(I forgot that Nasir escapes…so he stayed with the army the whole time)**

The remaining Deains were now buried under layers of castle stones. The liberation army had a few people injured from the trap surprisingly. The dragon girl, Ena was fine and was now in the care of Nasir after he explained his actions to them.

Turns out that Ena is his granddaughter, which surprised everyone, and that he wanted to help her in any way he could. He apologized to Mist for stealing her mother's memento, to Ike for deceiving him, and reluctantly apologized to Zelos for almost killing him.

They began planning their next move for the capital, there they would fight the King of Deain and with hope this war would end, but suddenly Nasir ran into the tent like a mad man. "Ena has awoken and with horrible news."

"What is it?" Ike asked, all of them wanting to know what has gotten the laguz so devastated.

"It's Leanne. Ashnard has her captured so she could release the dark god."

"Why?" Lloyd didn't understand this at all. "I thought the herons couldn't do that."

"They can't. But Ashnard doesn't know that."

"Blast! He'll kill Leanne just as he did Lillia!" Reyson growled from his corner. "Where is she Nasir?" He demanded.

"Gritnea Tower," he answered.

/~/~/

The rain began to pour heavily on Kratos as he continued his advance. Regardless all the pain he was in he persevered. No amount of First Aid would help. Of course it was his fault that he was in the state he was in; he had cast Judgment and it left his body numb and fatigued.

As he had pursued the man that had carried off the Exsheres, Kratos had crossed paths with a knight in black armor. He was forced to fight him. He tried disarming his opponent but that proved futile. So before he lost sight of his target Kratos decided to use Judgment. It worked for the most part, leaving the knight stunned just long enough for him to fly and catch up to the man with the Exspheres.

He flew until his wings gave out and so he was forced to walk for the last hour. But he finally made it to the tower he saw the strange man enter.

Kratos leaned against a tree out of exhaustion. _Maybe I should rest for a bit,_ he thought as he slid down to the ground. He would have like nothing more than to sleep for about to week, maybe more. But he knew he couldn't, the sooner he retrieved those Exspheres the better.

Even under the tree Kratos could still feel the icy drops hit his body. Had he been a normal man he would have caught death long ago. He wondered if the reason he was in so much pain because of all he did with Cruxis, all the things he did as an angel.

He struggled to his feet and continued on his way. He didn't get far when a black figure swooshed down and cut through Kratos' side.

Turning around he tried to spot the enemy, but it was so dark and his hair was matted against his face it was difficult to see anything. But then he heard it, wings flapping! So he pivoted toward the source of the sound and saw that his enemy was a giant crow!

Drawing his blade in time he was able to catch the crow's talons. The crow was able to push Kratos up against a tree and attempted to peck at him. He knew it was a laguz he was fighting, he just wondered if this one had gone crazy but he didn't see an Exshpere anywhere on it.

Though his muscles protested he used what little strength he had and pushed the giant bird away. It cawed at him and began another attack, talons fully open.

Kratos went on the defense again but his body refused to do so. The wound the laguz gave him was in searing pain. He couldn't let this be the end.

* * *

"_Come my slaves I want you to devour those Crimean bastards!"_

"_Kratos, look out!"_

"_Were coming for you Mad King of Deain," _


	15. Chapter 12: Twisted Tower

This chapter's not so bad considering I only spent about two or three days on it. Hopefully I got Izuka right but I doubt that. Anyway just one more to go! It'll pretty long so it may be a while but my goal is to get it done before next month so lets hope for the best.

* * *

Chapter 12: Twisted Tower

Though his muscles protested he used what little strength he had and pushed the giant bird away. It cawed at him and began another attack, talons fully open.

Kratos went on the defense again but his body refused to do so. The wound the laguz gave him was in searing pain. He couldn't let this be the end.

So he threw himself to the ground, narrowly missing the giant talons.

"**First Aid,**" Kratos cast under his breath. He was really pushing the limits of his body but the soothing feeling washed over him as the healing art took effect. His wounds would no longer hinder his movement but fatigue was whole other story. Jumping to his feet, Kratos held his sword ready to swing at his opponent. But the crow was nowhere in sight.

_Damn, that thing's dark feathers are blending in perfectly in this miserable night. _He closed his eyes and with his angelic hearing he would be able to hear the laguz approaching. From behind he heard the beating of large wing flying rapidly toward them. Just before the crow attacked Kratos pivoted toward it and swung upward; slashing deep into its chest.

The crow tumbled to the ground but quickly stood back up. Though the crow didn't fly back into the air it stretched its black wing in order to look more menacing. The laguz was ready for another round. The only thing though Kratos doubted he could.

Just then a hawk's cry ringed though the trees. Then just as suddenly the crow came, a giant hawk appeared. But instead of attacking either of them the hawk just flew in-between the two.

Then the hawk transformed into a large man with great brown wings. Kratos remembered this laguz. He was the hawk king, Tibarn. What was he doing here of all places?

"Both of you open your eyes!" the hawk king bellowed. "We're all on the same side!" His eyes flickered over to the crow. "Well… for the most part," he murmured.

The crow suddenly transformed into its humanoid form. A man in all black, now with a large bloody cut across his chest, black wings and bright blue hair. Though Kratos couldn't remember his name he did know he was the king of the crow laguz.

"You really need to learn not to butt in, Tibarn," the crow sneered. "I was just about to get rid of this Deain dog."

Tibarn scowled, "Stupid crow, this is the beorc with angel wings. I was watching the fight and I thought I might let the beorc just go on and kill you, Naesala. But then I thought you might be useful as a decoy since I assume you here for the same reason as I am."

"If you don't mind my asking what are the two of you doing here?" Kratos asked as he leaned all his weight against a tree.

The two bird laguz focused their attention on him. "You remember the heron laguz you and your friend rescued in Serenes Forest?" Tibarn began by asking.

Kratos nodded as the rain continued to pour down on them all. "Well those damn Deain bastards managed to kidnap her and brought her here to this place. Just by looking at it I can tell she won't last long." Tibarn explained then looked to the crow. "So Naesala I can assume your spies told you what happened?"

Naesala scoffed but he didn't deny it. "So what is you're doing here winged beorc?"

So Kratos briefly explain about the man in Deain who stole Exsheres and brought them to the tower before them. Both of the laguz kings looked horrified at that news. "You don't think they'll use those things on Leanne do you?" The crow asked out loud.

"I think it's safe to say she is safe from those stones," Tibarn said. "But I can't just sit by now that I now those things are nearby. Kratos, it looks like our goals have merged."

"Now hold on Tibarn," Naesala interrupted. "I don't recall agreeing to join this little group."

"I could care less if you help or not Naesala, but if you get in our way I swear I'll rip your wings off!"

_It'll be a miracle if any of us survive this, _Kratos thought. He knew if he had any chance of succeeding in retrieving those Exsheres in his state he was going to need the two laguz's help. But it would prove difficult if these two were ready to tear each other's throat out. "Look, it's almost morning. Our best beat is to infiltrate the tower under the cover of night. If we're in this together we need to move now," Kratos told them.

The two laguz looked at each and seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement. "I'll go look for an entrance for us," Naesala announced and walked off.

"Why you?" Tibarn eyed him.

"My black feathers won't be as noticeable as yours, Tibarn," Naesala said gesturing to his wings before disappearing into the dark.

Kratos took this opportunity to sit down for a moment. "How were you expecting to get in and out of there in your condition?" The hawk laguz asked.

"I'm just making this up as I go," Kratos answered. "What about you, how can you work with someone you obviously don't trust?"

"Your right, I don't trust that crow. But he'll do anything to protect the heron siblings. That I can trust."

Kratos missed the rest of what the laguz said as he nodded off. He woke up once Naesala returned. He wasn't sure how long he had been out but the small rest helped a lot. It wasn't raining as hard now and Kratos could see the sun was struggling to rise. But there was plenty of darkness to hide them.

"There's an opening at the top with little to no guards," the crow informed them.

"It's time to move then," Kratos said as he revealed his wings. Hopefully he would be able to flew that small distance.

The three of them flew high into the sky and began circling the tower until they found an opened window at the top. They entered into a large spiral stair case. As soon as Kratos flew in he realized just how soaked he was. The dry air caused his wet cloths to chill him. But there was nothing he could do right now, besides it wasn't like being wet would kill him.

"Where to start?" Naesala murmured.

"You two go on down, I'll check up and make sure Leanne isn't there," Tibarn said as he began climbing his way up the stairs.

Naesala just let out a huffed breath as he stocked his way down the stairs. Kratos couldn't help but think this was the best idea, neither of them could stand the other and Naesala wasn't exactly trustworthy.

The two of them proceeded down with caution and reached the bottom to a door. Just when Kratos was about to grab the handle, the door opened wide revealing two Daein guards right in front of them.

It took both of the guards a minute to realize their situation. Before they could react, Kratos had already cut one of them down while the Naesala punched the other one out. The two of them quickly pulled the two guards into a dark corner so they wouldn't be as noticeable, then entered to long dark hallway.

"Shit," Naesala said under his breath. "This damn tower is too cramped for me to fight in my bird form."

_That could be a problem,_ Kratos now wondered if Tibarn would be alright on his own. But it was too late to worry now, time was of the essences.

With little to no windows it became difficult to judge time. Both of them did their best to avoid detection and succeed for the most part; surprisingly there weren't many guards around. But everything looked the same Kratos felt he was he and Naesala were going in circles. Halls, stairways, doors, everything looked the same.

Just when the two of them were about to round yet another corner both of them heard hurried footsteps heading right for them. Both of them slide against the wall and waited. Kratos gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to decapitate the enemy as soon as they walked by. As the footsteps came closer Kratos began to question what he was hearing. They were footsteps, no doubt, but there was something else, like a ruffling sound. Soon Kratos released his hold on his sword and walked around to come face to face with Tibarn.

Tibarn sighed with relief on seeing him. "Glade I ran into you. This place doesn't look all this complex on the outside."

"Any luck finding Leanne?" Naesala asked.

The hawk laguz shook his head. "Not a feather laying anywhere. But I was able to find one of the things we were looking for." Tibarn handed Kratos a small bag.

Relief flooded though him as he saw it; he finally found the Exsheres. But it quickly vanished as soon as he took the bag in his hand. It was light, too light. So he poured to contents out in his hand. The red surface of the gems reflected the torch light making them much more cruel looking.

_1, 2, _he began counting,_ 3, 4, 5, 6…7._ That wasn't near enough. He saw, with his own eyes, the strange man take more than enough to equip a whole army. _Did he distribute them on his stops? No, he kept all of them I just know it. But where are the rest?_

"What's wrong?" Tibarn asked seeing Kratos expression.

"This isn't all of them," he told the laguz kings.

Both of them looked wide eyed at him then Tibarn added, "I did hear some of those beorcs saying something about 'leftovers'."

"Leftovers? From what?" Naesala failed to hide the worry in his voice. Obviously he feared on of these red stones may have reached Leanne.

_Don't tell me I'm too late again._

Suddenly the three of them heard voices coming down the hall Kratos and Naesala had come down. They quickly hide behind one of the large pillars and peered around to see who it was that was going to pass them.

"Gahhhh, His Highness should know how hard it is to keep one of these little birdies healthy!" One of the voices raved. That one that spoke Kratos recognized as the strange little man who took all those Exsheres back at Deain Keep. His greasy looking hair was pulled back and wore pale purple robes.

Behind him were two guards and walking next to him was a man a head taller. His hair was short and green and had on mage's robes. "I'm telling you Izuka; if we were to embed one of those stones on her it would undoubtedly make her stronger and keep that frail body healthy until the king needs her," the green haired man said.

"Stupid Heddwyn, did you not see how those other filthy beast reacted to those blood stones," the man Izuka spat.

Heddwyn huffed. "It's only a matter of time until we unlock all the secrets of these stones."

"Yes well until then, keep making tabs on those test subjects and do keep the little birdy alive," Izuka said as he began walking away from the group. "I'm returning to Deain for now; do be sure my pets don't eat one another."

He disappeared around the corner and the rest of the group walked through a door.

"What was that all about," Tibarn whispered.

Kratos didn't reply. He had an idea; he just hoped he was wrong.

"The 'little birdy' must be Leanne. If we follow them they may lead us to her," Naesala said and then began making his way to door. Tibarn and Kratos quickly followed him.

The door lead them into an even smaller hallway and even more poorly lit. By the smell it was obviously a prison. They stayed as far back as they could and they watched as the three Deain men stood in front of a cell and in the corner Kratos saw a white figure.

Suddenly, another guard ran into the hall, apparently there was another door to this prison. "Sir we have a problem. A strange group is approaching. We believe it's the liberation army!"

"What!" Heddwyn bellowed causing Leanne to flinch in her cell. "This doesn't make sense, why would they come here! They should be heading for the capital!" He rubbed his brow then looked at the guards. "Well, don't just stand there, go out there and kill them!"

"But sir, we're outnumbered severely," one of the guards objected.

"Don't worry about that, I'll handle getting reinforcements," Heddwyn told them as he hurried down the hall.

The soldiers hesitated a moment, then they too took off; but they were heading right for Kratos and them. They never knew what hit them as the three of them jumped out of the darkness knocking all three of the guards out. Then they hurried to the cell to find Leanne huddled against the wall. But as soon as she saw them her face brightened as she stood and walked over to them and began speaking in her strange language.

"Don't worry Leanne we're going to get you out of there," Tibarn reassured her. Then he ripped the bared door off its hinges.

"Now that she's safe I'm going after that guy. I have a feeling that he has something to do with the missing Exsheres," Kratos told them.

"Hold up, I'm going with you. I want to find those stones before they can harm anyone else," Tibarn said. "Naesala, you take Leanne and get the hell out of here."

"How I'm I supposed to do that. I doubt I'll be able to get back the way we came in," Naesala objected.

Then in a quick movement Kratos drew his sword and unleashed a Demon Fang, busting open a large hole in the wall. "Get out that way."

And so they did. Naesala and Leanne transformed into their bird form and flew away as fast as they could.

Kratos and Tibarn then quickly followed after Heddwyn. They ran down dark spiral a staircase that leads to a large open basement. Before it reached the bottom there was a platform that they stealthy sneaked on. From there they were able to see a large cage and though Kratos couldn't see what was inside he could hear the cries of wild animals. _Was that what was in there? _Kratos really hoped that was true. Just below them he saw Heddwyn arguing with who appeared to be another mage.

"Sir, they're not ready! We still haven't-"

But Heddwyn cut off the mage. "Why the hell do you think we spent time breeding these creatures if not for situations like these? Open gates now!"

Reluctantly the mage pulled on a lever and the gate slowly began to rise. Heddwyn position himself in front of the gate as he waited for whatever was in there. "Come my slaves! I want you to devour those Crimean bastards!" He shouted when red eyes appeared.

A paw emerged from the shadows; that was when Kratos realized that he was too late. Various laguz bird and beast emerged from the cage with Exsheres embedded in their skin. There was no intelligence or humanity left in them.

They looked rather confused but a cat laguz seemed to notice Heddwyn first then leaped into the air and landed right on him, biting into his neck. Blood splattered everywhere as Heddwyn fell to the ground. He screamed and struggled as a few of the other beast laguz began biting into him. Soon he ceased to move.

The young mage began to cower in fear against the wall. He was frozen with terror or maybe he thought he could escape through the wall. Either way he wasn't going anywhere. Soon the other laguz who weren't already chewing on Heddwyn began making their way to him. This time it was a hawk that swooped down and tore out his throat. Blood sprayed out covering the other beast as they began to stick their fangs into the mage's flesh, they true had become savage beast.

Kratos and Tibarn just watched in horror at the victims of the Exsheres. Through the darkness Kratos could see Tibarn clenched his fist in anger at what had befallen his fellow laguz. "Is there no way to change them back to the way they were?"

Kratos shook his head grimly. "Removing an Exsheres without a key crest on a human causes them to turn into monsters," he explained as he remembered what happened to Anna. "With you laguz you die instantly." On the way to this tower he had encountered another, smaller, group of the infected laguz and had experimented to see what would happen if he removed the Exshere. But as soon as he ripped the stones from their bodies they died right there.

Suddenly Tibarn stood up and expanded his giant, brown wings. "Then there is only one thing left to do. Don't worry my brothers, I will set you free." He dived off the platform and as he fell he transformed into an enormous hawk. His target was a tiger but on his way down he managed to slice through two birds with his talons.

_The Crimean Liberation Army, _Kratos remembered one of the guards saying. _Most likely Lloyd is with them. _He imagined his son fighting these infected laguz out on the battle field. Lloyd could take out the Deain while he and Tibarn destroyed the Exsheres. They couldn't let a single one of these laguz escape from this tower.

With this in mind, Kratos leaped over the railing and landed on a beast laguz, breaking its neck on impact.

They slashed, stabbed and tore the infected laguz but there was no end to them in sight. They just kept coming from the endless cage. The footing became difficult for Kratos as the floor became filled with blood and the bodies of dead laguz. _Will it never end? _Kratos wondered. He was past his limit.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to vibrate. All the laguz stopped their attacks and they parted from the cage. It became louder and Kratos realized they were footsteps.

_Great, _Kratos groaned as multiple large red eyes emerged. Three red dragons appeared looming over all of them. The one in the middle continued forward as the other two stopped. _What are their warped minds planning? _Then the dragon heaved in a great breath, it was ready for attack.

But it wasn't aiming at him or Tibarn.

It was aiming for the wall.

"Damn it!" Kratos said as he tried to get out of the blast range but to no avail. The fire from the belly of the dragon and the force of the destroyed wall sent Kratos hard against the floor. He was in a daze for a while but soon his sense returned only to see that nearly all the laguz were already outside. Tibarn had tried his best to fend them off but he was stuck in the middle of a four-on-one bird fight. Tibarn would be fine on his own so Kratos chased after the rest.

It was as bright as day when Kratos stepped outside. The infected laguz were all over the place, fighting not only the Deain but also people who were wearing different colors. Then he realized it was the Liberation Army. His eyes quickly scanned to the area for the boy in red but didn't spot his son. He relaxed a little, he didn't dare think about a worst case scenario. He had to keep fighting.

As the fighting continued Kratos' moves became sloppier. Every so often he would see those he once traveled with, he wasn't sure if they saw him but he didn't see Lloyd.

Soon Kratos came face to face with one of the dragons. His breathing was harder and he was covered with the laguz's blood. But he simply gripped his sword with both of his hands and dashed for the poor soul. He thrust his blade into the belly of the beast and lightning struck it, killing the laguz instantly.

Kratos pulled his sword out just in time to evade the dragon before it landed on him. As soon as it hit the ground so did Kratos.

He was done. Finished.

But he still he struggled to get back on his feet. He only managed to get into a setting position. Watching the battle unfold before him he never saw the looming shadow coming from behind. By the time he noticed it was too late.

Another red dragon was behind him when he looked over his shoulder and it was about to breath fire on him. _I guess my time has come_. Kratos closed his eyes as he waited for death. He could no longer move or attack. There was nothing he could do now. But instead of feeling the pain of the dragon's fire he heard the voice of his son.

"Kratos, look out!" Lloyd cried as he ran to him. Suddenly his blue Exshere began to glow. The young swordsmen jumped up and yelled "**Phi Tempest!**" His body began doing multiple flips in the air and his twin blades cut through the dragon as if it were nothing.

The second dragon laguz was dead no and Kratos searched for the third one but didn't see it. He assumed someone else had already killed it.

"Dad," a concerned voice said from behind him. Lloyd walked in front of him and extended his hand to him.

A smile played across Kratos' face. After everything he has done Lloyd would still call him his father. His heart was filled with joy as he accepted the hand that helped him back to his feet, not just now but all the other times as well.

/~/~/

It took the rest of the afternoon to gather the carcasses of the infected laguz and burn them along with the hellish tower. They made sure that these stones would no longer cause any more pain to the people of this world. And in a way, burning their remains was like finally setting their souls free.

At least that was what Lloyd kept telling himself. Upon seeing all the victims now disintegrating before him he felt like he was going to be sick; this is what Exshperes have done to the people of this world!

_Soon this will all be over. _ Lloyd clenched his fist toward the smoldering mass. _"_Were coming for you Mad King of Deain." _And all your victims of your cruel war will be avenged!_

* * *

Hope you liked it. No need for a preveiw, its the fight against Ashnard and mainly because I haven't really planned it out yet. But I'll get right on that!


	16. Chapter 13: Sudden Farewells

All I have to say now is Sorry Rajaion!

* * *

Chapter 13: Sudden Farewells 

Just out on the outskirts of Melior the camps of the Liberation Army waited in anticipation for the following morning. At dawn they will march either to their deaths or victory. No matter the outcome this long drawn out war will finally come to an end. Everyone hoped that the odds would be in their favor.

Tomorrow the sun will set on a blood-filled battlefield.

Or that had been the plan.

All the beorc and laguz had been prepping for the battle that was to come until a lone Deain messenger of peace marched on their door steps. This man bore a letter from the king himself. This one little piece of paper brought disaster with it, particularly to the higher ups.

"Look, this is obviously a trap," Titania argued.

"No doubt," Soren agreed. "But if they are even considering such a move then it must mean that they don't have the forces to counter us. We out number them."

"So you're suggesting we spring the trap," Raine inquired.

Soren nodded, "That's precisely it. If they think we'll honestly fall for it then it'll be to our advantage."

"I agree," Ike said. "Besides a one-on-one fight with the Mad King himself might work out for us especially if I can kill him before the rest of his army break this so-called truce."

"More than likely the Deain king will have similar armor as the Black Knight," Regal commented.

"But that's why Ike has that holy sword and we're ready to jump in with our artes to take out that mad king once in for all!" Lloyd exclaimed.

Raine didn't look convinced. "But there is still the problem that its Ashnard Ike will be facing alone. No offence Ike, but I doubt your strength will be enough to best the Mad-King of Deain."

Nobody said anything for a while. No one wanted to admit it but the Deain king was probably on a whole other level than any of them. The stories they heard about him on the battlefield was all too terrifying. Ashnard, with his great sword, flying down to cut his enemy in half.

_Flying? _Lloyd remembered all the stories the soldiers had told him. _Asnard always fought on a wyvern! What would make this fight any different? _"I've got an idea," Lloyd announced. Everyone turned their attention to him wondering what the red swordsmen could be thinking. "Ashnard fights on a mount, so if he's going to have a wyvern fight with him why shouldn't we have a second person fighting?"

"Even if he doesn't allow us two he would have to give up his mount," Soren said out loud. He pounded on Lloyd's suggestion. "If that's the case it could still work out. We just need to make sure we attack first before they do if things start to go wrong. But who are you suggesting be the second one?"

"Well I'll do it," Lloyd said eagerly.

"But Lloyd, only our artes work against that armor. You won't be able to fight like that the whole time," Presea told him.

"Maybe not," Kratos said. "The Eternal Sword is basically the power of Origin. Being the king of all summon spirits, it should be enough to pierce the blessed armor." He held up the two material blades. "These blades still hold Origin's power, it should be enough."

"I'm just surprised Lloyd was the one that came up with this idea," Genis teased.

/~/~/

The Liberation Army marched into the courtyard the next morning to see the Deain army lined against the castle. Standing in the center was Ashnard and behind him was the black wyvern he always rode. The Deain king looked a lot bigger then Lloyd imagined and he also understood why he was called "Mad-King", he truly looked insane.

Before Ike and Lloyd walked forward, Lloyd looked back at his friends.

"Good luck Lloyd!" Colette smiled at him.

"Kick his ass," Zelos cheered.

"So your Gawain's son, huh?" Ashnard eyed Ike. "You don't look like much. But at least you have enough gull to accept my challenge. But why do you bring another with you? I asked you to fight me one on one. "

"He is Lloyd Irving, he is to be my seconded if you interned to fight on your mount," Ike answered

The Mad-King looked back at his wyvern, and then laughed. "Very well. I suppose my pet will get two snacks rather than one. Let us see what the two of you are made of." He climbed onto the back of the beast and wyvern let out a blood thirsty roar before charging right to the two young swordsmen before either of them could draw their weapons.

Possibly because of the red its jaws tried to close its great fangs around Lloyd but he managed to roll out of the way in time. He could hear a few of his friends shout out to him but he ignored them as his primary goal was to stay alive for the next five seconds. The wyvern continued to claw its way toward him snapping at him each time he felt the creature's snout against his back.

He was about to wonder where Ike was until he heard metal on metal. Ike must have somehow managed to leap onto the mount and was now in a dual with Ashnard, he didn't dare look back to check. But it seems their opponents were set by unspoken agreement. Ike would fight the Mad-King while Lloyd distracted the wyvern.

Suddenly, Lloyd was lifted off his feet. He panicked when he realized that one of the wyvern's teeth got snagged on one of his suspenders. It swung its head violently to try and loosen Lloyd. Obviously the beast couldn't eat him the way he was now. Everything was a blur as he was thrashed around, he felt like he was going to be sick. Then there was a snap as Lloyd was sent hurtling to the ground.

A cry escaped his throat before crashing into the ground, knocking his breath out. It took some time for him to regain his bearings but when he did he finally drew his twin blades out ready for his opponent even though his ears were still ringing.

Lloyd finally got a good look at the situation. Ike was indeed on top of the mount battling with Ashnard; both of them must have excellent balance if they were still staying on after all the movement the wyvern has been doing. Their footwork was careful along the beast's spine. They also seemed to be evenly matched.

But right now Lloyd needed focus on his opponent who was staring down at him. Its head lunged at him, mouth wide open, but this time he was ready. He placed his feet firmly to the ground and brought both material blades up, cutting deep into the wyvern's gums.

Lloyd realized too late that what he had just done was a mistake because the wyvern reared both its head and body as it roared in pain. This caused Ike to stumble off the mount while Ashnard managed to grasp hold of the reins. Once the wyvern was on all fours again the Mad-King grinned as he was about to thrust his blade down that would surly end Ike's life.

But Lloyd wouldn't let that happen. He charged right for Ashnard. He jumped into the air, Exsphere glowing bight as he was about to attack. But he wasn't high enough; his attack would not hit the king.

Just then, for a split second, the wyvern looked at Lloyd and he saw intelligence in its eyes, not madness like its master's. It almost seemed human. Most surprising was that it dropped to its belly, allowing Lloyd's attack to hit Ashnard. "**Beast!" **He shouted as his attack knocked Ashnard right off his mount.

The only thing was that Lloyd fell on top the beast and his blue blade became embedded into its scaled skin causing the wyvern to cry out. It then jumped up into the air and began to fly. Lloyd didn't dare let go of either blades' hilts. But as the wyvern began doing air tricks to try and knock Lloyd off he gained the courage to climb up, especially since he could fell the blade was coming lose.

Somehow he managed to sheath his other blade and grab one of the creature's spikes. As the air and gravity was working hard to make him drop the ground far below his body brushed against the other spikes, cutting into his sides. But he only tightened his grip and focused on that instead of the pain. He quickly let go of the hilt and reached up for the saddle. Pulling himself up he made it to the saddle and held on for dear life to the reins. _How the hell am I going to get down from here?_ He wondered as he looked down nervously. He had no clue as to how to fly this beast. It would be far too dangerous for Colette or his dad to fly up and save him and he wasn't sure if he could pull off the same trick he did when he germinated the Great Seed. What was he going to do?

At that moment Lloyd began to hear battle cries below. He took a closer look at the ground. Both of the armies were fighting! _That bastard Ashnard must have signaled his troops to attack! _Lloyd thought bitterly. Distantly he saw other wyvern riders battling it out with the Pegasus Knights. Though he couldn't see them, he could hear the howls of laguz. Though everyone was fighting it seems everyone was leaving a large circle for Ike and Ashnard to dual it out.

_This was bad, if this kept up then that crazy, dark god thingy would be released!_ What was it Ashnard planned to accomplish by releasing it? He had to end this, and fast. But how?

Almost like the wyvern was answering his question, it dived down and began circling around the duelers. Not low enough though, if Lloyd was to jump off now he would probably break a leg if he was lucky. Ike wasn't doing much better than Lloyd. Half his face was bloodied and so was his right leg. It was then he got an idea. So he wedged his foot on the blade in the wyvern's stomach and kicked with all his might, he didn't dare lean over. One hit and the blade went tumbling to the ground. "Heads up Ike!" Lloyd yelled to the top of his lungs to be heard over the fighting.

Ike looked just in time to catch the blue blade and immediately began fighting like he had trained his whole life with two blades. He'd seen Ike practice with two swords and had even spared with him. Ike's attacks turned quick and fast as he swiped at the king. Both blades were cutting through the king's blessed armor to his dismay but he kept fighting.

Suddenly, Lloyd's body jerked upward as the wyvern flew up, high above the castle. _Damn it! _He needed to get down there and help, _now_! He looked around frantically for an answer. And it was right there in front of him.

It was going to be risky, no doubt. But he knew that he couldn't guide this thing down to the ground so if he couldn't do that maybe he could glide it down. Would this plan work?

By chance Lloyd looked up and really began to doubt his plan. Looking at him was the wyvern, again with those human eyes. That's when the sick recognition hit him. _This thing…it's a laguz!_ But there wasn't an Exsphere on it, so what happened to it? He couldn't go with his plan knowing it would take this poor victim's life.

Suddenly its muzzle moved and Lloyd could have sworn it was talking. _"Please_," it begged in a weak voice. _"Kill me."_

He felt his throat tighten; taking an innocent life was something he couldn't do. But as he thought about the life this poor soul had to endure because of whatever the bastard king did and made him do, maybe death would be a blessing. There was no guarantee it could return to the life it had before. But that wouldn't stop Lloyd from trying.

After all this is over he'll get the professor to see if she can do the same thing she did with the governor-general's wife.

Wrapping his leg around the reins, Lloyd steadied himself as he drew his sword. He lifted his sword above his head as he aimed at its left wing. "I'm sorry," he told the wyvern. "But I am going to set you free." Then with all his strength he plunged the blade down into the creature's left wing.

This caused the creature to jerk around do to the pain it must have been in, but it could no longer move its wing. They began to fall much quicker than Lloyd had anticipated regardless of how much the other wing was flapping.

Lloyd's sword seemed to tearing though the wing like it was paper so he had one hand one the hilt and the other clinging to the saddle. Though the ground was coming quickly Lloyd was able to tell that they were going to land right on top of Ike and Ashnard. _Uh-oh! _

He braced himself for the crash but it wasn't enough. Once they hit the ground Lloyd was thrown off, landing on his right arm. There was a horrible snap as pain vibrated though his whole body. Lloyd rolled to his side and gently touched his forearm. It was broken, he could fell some of his bones were out of place.

But there was still a battle going on. He hoped he landed on the king but he high doubted it, it would be far too easy for it to end like this.

As he stood up he winced as his arm fell painfully to his side. Next to him he heard the wyvern growl weakly, its whole body must have shattered on impact. Since its head was on the other side Lloyd took the chance and patted the creature's stomach. "Thank you," he told it though he doubted it understood him anymore.

"Lloyd!" He heard Ike shout. Looking behind him he saw Ike slightly limping toward him. "That was some stunt you pulled, I honestly didn't think you'd survive that fall," he said as he handed Lloyd his sword back.

"Well that makes two of us."

"At least you took down one; now all that's left is Ashnard and this war will be over."

Looking back at the broken creature Lloyd said, "We need to save this thing."

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" Ike asked looking worried.

_Probably. _"Listen, I think this was a laguz once."

Ike looked like Lloyd did when he realized it. "Does it have an Exsphere?"

"No, but the king must have done something to warp this poor guy."

"Right you are," Ashnard's voice said as a large shadow covered them. Standing on top the dying creature was the Mad-King, all the blood, which Lloyd assumed to be his and not Ike's, seemed to suit him. "This pathetic excuse for a mount was once one of the dragon tribe. I figured he'd make a fine beast to serve my deeds for total war. In the end he was just as useless as all my others generals."

Lloyd pointed his sword at him. "You sick bastard!"

"Come down here and let's finish this once and for all king of Deain!" Ike demanded.

A laugh escaped Ashnard's throat, like they had just said something funny. "I think I'll wait a moment on that. It won't be long now until the dark god is awakens, that is something I will not miss."

"Like hell!" Lloyd shouted.

Suddenly the wyvern stirred and lifted its uninjured wing, knocking the king right to the ground. He quickly recovered and held his sword at the ready.

The three of them circled around one another as they got some space between them and the warped laguz. It was Ike who attacked first with a strong attack but the king easily deflected it. Lloyd went next; he certainly wasn't use to fighting with one sword let alone with one hand. But his attacked missed, Ashnard had swerved out of the way and Lloyd almost lost his balance.

No matter how many times to two of them hit the Mad-King it didn't seem to bother him regardless of all the injuries he received. "My, it has been far too long since I had such worthy opponents," Ashnard laughed as he knocked Lloyd to the ground.

Then just when Ashnard was about to strike at Lloyd saw a familiar fireball spell hit the king square in the chest. Lloyd didn't need to look to know that it was Genis who gave them this opening.

"Ike! Now's are chance!" Lloyd yelled as dashed for Ashnard.

Before Ashnard could get a grasp of the situation, both Ike and Lloyd had stabbed him in the chest. His eyes were wide as blood was running down his mouth. "This…this can't be happening. I…I was so…close…"

The Mad-King's corpse began to slump, Ike kicked it away from there blades and shouted for all to hear. "Soldiers of Deain, your king is dead! Deain has lost this war!"

It took only a moment for the word to spread to everyone and to realize his words. Many cried out, "How could this be?" But all of them surrendered their weapons. Those on the winning side began cheering.

It was finally over. The king was dead, the dark god wasn't released, and this year long war was finally over. They have won.

All of his friends came rushing toward them. In the lead was Colette who came running toward him and hugged Lloyd so hard that it was causing him more pain in his broken arm. "Lloyd! I was so worried but you and Ike did it!" But she let go of him when she saw him wincing. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her as he cradled his arm. "I should probably have the professor take a look at this, huh?" He looked to his half-elven friend and couldn't help but grin. "Thanks Genis. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped when you did."

"It only seemed fair since the whole time Ashnard had archers and mages attacking the two of you from a far," he explained.

"Those little bastards got annoying real quick," Zelos complained. "We ran all over the place killing them, but everyone we cut down three more popped up in their place."

"But it's all over now," Ike told them. "I don't know how I could ever begin to thank all of you. Every one of you has done so much for this army. All I can do right now is say thank you."

"I'm sure you would have done the same thing if it were the other way around," Lloyd said.

Suddenly, Ena appeared out of nowhere and ran straight for the wyvern and wrapped her arms around its neck.

"Ena, wait. That thing might still be dangerous!" Ike shouted after her.

"We should go ahead and put that thing out of its misery," Regal suggested.

"No, we can't! That thing is a laguz," Lloyd explained.

"A laguz you say," Reyson repeated. He and Leanne began speaking in the ancient language for a short while and then looked to Ike. "Will you allow us to try something; I believe Leanne and I can return this soul to its original form."

Ike nodded, "Go ahead."

The heron siblings stepped closer and began to sing the same thing when they restored their forest.

Their beautiful notes filled the courtyard, soothing everyone to silence. But something was wrong with Lloyd's material blade, it was glowing. He could also see the other blade that had land a distance away also glowing. Then a bright light flooded his eyes, it was his Exsphere. And not just him but everyone else's stones were doing the same thing.

Soon the white light was all Lloyd saw before he blacked out.


	17. Epilogue

Oh my, I can't believe it…It's done! Finally I have finished it! Thank all of you who has taken time out of you day to read my cross-over! I hope you'll continue to read my future stories.

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Epilogue

Lloyd's eyes blinked open to see a light blue sky before him. But he immediately shot up when he realized what had just happened.

Only he wasn't in the courtyard surrounded by soldiers. Instead he was surrounded by the rubble of some stone structure and all of his friends collapsed. _What happened? _

Soon everyone began to stir, looking just as confused as he did. "Is everyone okay?" He asked them.

Everyone muttered a yes but then he realized that neither Kratos nor Yuan were with them. But that didn't make sense, the two of them were right with them when that light came but yet Noishe was right by his side when he had been back at the camp.

"Lloyd!" The professor cried out like she had seen a ghost. Everyone turned to her as the pointed to the stairs in front of her. "Do you know where we are!"

He was about to say the castle since that was the last place they were at, but as he stared at the broken steps that seemed to float in the air he pictured a tall tower that stretched on to the heavens. "The Tower of Salvation!" He exclaimed. Were they home?

Genis was the one to answer that. "There's mana here! We're back in our world!"

"But how?" Sheena asked out loud. "I mean, I'm sure it was because of the Eternal Sword but why now?"

"Maybe it was all just a dream," Regal suggested. "It doesn't seem like any time has passed since we were last here." He was right it looked like the tower was just destroyed.

"Can we really all have the same dream at the same time?" Zelos questioned.

"Highly unlikely, but impossible," Presea answered.

_This is all so confusing! _Lloyd was rubbing his brow when he realized that he was using his right arm. The arm he supposedly broke. He held it out in front of him and flexed it, moving every finger and joint. There was nothing wrong with it. Then his there were his suspenders, it wasn't ripped. "I thank Regal is right. My arm is fine and we're missing two companions."

"That's right, Yuan and Kratos weren't with us when the worlds merged," Genis added.

"Whether it was all a dream or not I still wished we could have said good-bye to everyone," Colette said sadly.

"Same here," Lloyd told her and then looked out into the horizon. "Come on, we should be happy. After all, it's the dawn of a new world after all!"

But as he looked he saw a woman kneelt in front of a newly sprouted tree. Her hair was as green as the leaves. There was something familiar about her, like he knew her. _Martel?_

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Thank you all again! Next friday my new story will be up.


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